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Concern is mounting over how an already over-subscribed doctors’ surgery will cope if a proposal to merge it with another practice goes ahead.
Surveys have gone out to patients at City Way Medical Practice, Rochester, and Borstal Village Health Clinic to seek views about joining forces by the end of the year.
The proposal has angered Medway Council’s Labour group health spokesman, Cllr Teresa Murray, and her ward councillor colleague Alex Paterson who said they had not been consulted.
There is a fear that with 9,700 patients already registered at City Way, it might not cope.
Cllr Murray said: “It’s inevitable patients could get a raw deal if there are fewer places. It’s easy for private companies to walk away if they don’t make progress.
“I believe people have the right to have a say in something like the NHS, which they pay for.”
In a patient feedback form, it was stated if the merger went ahead it would “create a larger practice with exciting opportunities to share best practice and skilled workforce, including the recruitment of locally-trained GPs”.
It would be another of several mergers across the Towns in recent years which the CCG says enables skilled staff to share services.
Cllr Murray added: “How City Way would cope worries me. I understand both are at capacity.
“We want guarantees older people and young children get priority and ideally that Borstal remain open.
“There are a lot of elderly people living there who might find it difficult to get to City Way and there are a lot of new homes being built in the area, including Peter’s Village at Wouldham.
“It’s merger after merger with the lack of a public voice being heard or patients’ concerns considered.”
In a letter to CCG boss Stuart Jeffery, the councillors wrote: “While mild assurances have been given that nothing much will change, we would be grateful for an opportunity to explore this and other potential issues already raised with us by worried patients and therefore request a meeting to discuss our concerns and enable us to provide constituents with more informed answers than we are able to give at this time.”
Other services which have previously merged include a practice at the Rochester Healthy Living Centre in Delce Road with the Thorndike Healthcare Centre in Longley Road. Also the Woodlands Family Practice in Gillingham closed its green suite at Rainham Healthy Living Centre.
