Spearpoint Surgery closing

Advice and Information - 11 January 2016

On behalf of Redbridge CCG I wanted to let you know that we held the first information drop-in event for patients of Spearpoint Surgery on Friday 8 January.

On behalf of Redbridge CCG I wanted to let you know that we held the first information drop-in event for patients of Spearpoint Surgery on Friday 8 January. The practice is due to close on 31 March and the event was to support patients to register with an alternative GP.

The event went well, we had around 15 patients attend and all left satisfied, thanking the CCG team for their help.

At the event we went through the reasons for the closure, listened and responded to patient’s concerns and spoke to them one on one about registering with an alternative practice. We had staff from NHS England on hand as well to help.

Patients did challenge us on the decision to close the practice but after we explained the reasons for the closure, and responded to their suggested other options, they understood why the practice had to close and accepted the decision.

Main concerns from patients:

  • Worried that their nearest practice will turn them away/refuse to register them if they have too many health needs.

We reassured patients that all practices in Redbridge are accepting new patients and if they are in the catchment area for a practice, the practice has to accept them as a new patient. We have now added this information to the Spearpoint webpage as a result to reassure all patients.

  • Spearpoint has good transport links, many people get the bus there, and it is more difficult to get to their nearest/another practice

We explained patients have a choice over which practice to join, as long as they are in a catchment area. We said that if patients have a number of health issues that make it difficult for them to get to their GP they may be eligible for our Health 1000 programme which supports patients with five or more long-term conditions. GPs at Spearpoint are also currently identifying patients who may be eligible for Health 1000, which is based at King George Hospital.

  • Some worried that their new practice would be busy and it would be difficult to get an appointment

We explained we had spoken to practices nearby and they have confirmed they have capacity to take on new patients. We talked about the three GP hubs in Redbridge and that they provide same day appointments for those who need to be seen urgently. We also discussed the CCGs’ wider plans to improve access to GPs and urgent care.

The next patient information drop-in event at the practice is on Thursday 21 January, 9-10.30am.

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