A PUBLIC meeting is to be held next week to discuss how the Okement Surgery at Okehampton Hospital can be saved from closure.

In November NHS England revealed the GP surgery based at the town hospital is to close in April leaving 1,700 patients looking for a new GP on the basis that within the national vision for the NHS, small practices like the Okement Surgery are not sustainable.

A public meeting has been called by the surgery’s patient participation group in conjunction with Okehampton Town Council on Friday, January 22 at the Charter Hall at 7pm to invite residents to share their views on the potential closure of the surgery. This will be the first opportunity for people to share their thoughts publicly as so far, NHS England has carried out no consultation with patients.

The surgery is currently run by the Wallingbrook Health Group on behalf of NHS England under a time-limited contract which will end in April. Patients will then be ‘dispersed’ to Okehampton Medical Centre, Hatherleigh, Bow and North Tawton.

Lynn Lane, patient representative for the surgery, said she thought NHS England’s lack of consultation was appalling and has formally requested that NHS England reverse their decision and consult fully with patients before any decisions are made.

She said: ‘The surgery is currently open as normal and the vast majority of patients have stayed with the surgery so far, which says a lot about how much it is valued. There is a lot of bad feeling in Okehampton about this and it has been handled appallingly by NHS England. They haven’t consulted patients because in their words, they don’t have to.

‘Our patients do not deserve to be treated like numbers on a balance sheet. They deserve to be consulted on the future of their surgery.

‘All the patients of the surgery and residents of the town and surrounding area are invited to share their thoughts.’

Cllr Tony Leech, who has helped to organise the meeting, said: ‘Through conversations with Lynn I have heard there are lots of upset people and in fact people who have come unstuck over this news; some have gone to register at Okehampton Medical Centre to be told they can’t start there until April, but when they go back to the Okement Surgery to pick up prescriptions they get told they have already been transferred over. So it’s left some people in difficult situations.

‘The point of the meeting on January 22 is to go from anecdotal evidence to get hard evidence of the problems patients have had so far and the problems that patients foresee happening should the closure go ahead.

‘I have spoken to a few patients of Okehampton Medical Centre and at this moment in time they are often having to wait up to a month for an appointment. With 1,700 new patients on top of that, I can’t see how that situation would improve.

‘The biggest concern for the town is what NHS England is doing about the future. It seems that the budgeting and the decision is only looking at the situation as it is today. With hundreds of new houses being built in Okehampton, the people who move into those houses will need medical care. It could cause huge problems if we have just one surgery. On top of that, one practice means that the residents of Okehampton have no choice over where they get their healthcare.

‘I want people to come along to the meeting with an open mind to discuss the issues and to try and find a way to move forward and plan for the future.’

Central Devon MP Mel Stride, NHS England contract manager for the South West Caroline Stead and assistant contract manager Rachael Crawley have been invited to attend. Representatives from the Wallingbrook Health Group are expected to be in attendance.