Residents Concerned About the Possible Closure of Their GP Surgery

Published on: 14 Sep, 2022
Updated on: 18 Sep, 2022

Onslow Residents’ Association’s Open Meeting Over Fears GP Surgery May Close

By Martin Giles

Residents in southwest Guildford, affected by the proposed reorganisation of Guildown and Woodbridge Hill GP practices in north and west Guildford, are most concerned about the possible closure of Wodeland Avenue surgery and the consequent problems of traveling to centralised surgery sites, further away.

Their concerns were expressed last night (September 13) by a show of hands at a meeting called by the Onslow Village Residents Association (OVRA).

It had been expected that the meeting would include presentations of the proposed restructure from the Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board (formerly known as a Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)) but on the day before the meeting they informed the OVRA, “…we are obliged under NHS England and Cabinet Office guidance to postpone all in-person events that are not required for operational reasons during the official mourning period”.

The audience was reminded that four options had been short-listed:

• consolidating on a single surgery at Park Barn;
• consolidating with two surgeries, one main in Park Barn and the other close to the Jarvis Centre in Stoughton;
• consolidating into one or two main sites and additionally maintaining the Wodeland Avenue site and;
• consolidating into one or two main sites and finding another site (as yet determined) in southwest Guildford.

A wide range of questions was asked and the audience informed that someone travelling from St Catherine’s in southwest Guildford to the Jarvis Centre in Stoughton could face a journey of 55 minutes each way, if travelling by public transport.

A date for a revised meeting with the NHS Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board is expected to be announced.

Share This Post