The consultation on the proposed closure of Ketton Branch Surgery has been extended, following feedback from patients.
Uppingham Surgery, which runs Ketton Branch Surgery, is proposing to close this site and centralise services at its main site in Uppingham.
The consultation was scheduled to close on May 1, but after listening to the views of patients it will now run until June 1.
As well as extending the length of the consultation, Uppingham Surgery will be writing to patients providing more information about the proposed closure and has added additional questions to the survey. The practice’s business case, which details the proposals, is also available on the practice’s website and an additional drop-in session has been arranged for patients to ask questions and share their views.
Stakeholders and members of the public are also invited to participate in the consultation. Currently, patients can access GP appointments at Ketton branch surgery on Friday mornings, and practice nurse appointments on Monday mornings.
For the remainder of the week, the branch surgery is closed and patients travel to the main Uppingham Surgery site, Barrowden or Gretton branch surgeries for their healthcare needs.
Despite there being six hours of medical appointments available per week, a significant number of appointments regularly are unused, according to doctors, and less than 20 per cent of Ketton’s residents use the surgery. But the proposed closure has prompted outrage from concerned villagers and the first consultation exercise turned into a heated exchange.
Dr Dan Pickering, senior partner at Uppingham Surgery said: “We are committed to delivering the very best care for all our patients, however it is clear that running services at Ketton is not effective. “We value the views of our patients and have listened to the feedback we have received. We have made additional efforts to make more detailed information available so that patients can understand the rationale behind our proposals.
We would encourage people to read the information we have made available and share their views in the revised survey.”
Uppingham Surgery will be holding three further drop-in sessions for patients.
Article originally appeared on Stamford Mercury
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