Forestside Medical Practice in Main Road, Marchwood, at risk of closure

A VILLAGE’S only doctors’ surgery has announced it had taken the “difficult decision” to consider closing the practice due to a lack of GPs.

Forestside Medical Practice in Marchwood has launched a consultation on the plans to shut its Main Road site in a letter sent to concerned patients.

The Beaulieu Road site in Dibden Purlieu - four miles away - which the practice also runs, would remain unaffected, and patients from Marchwood would be transferred to this location.

A letter to patients states: “We understand that this news may come as a surprise and may raise concerns, so we want to provide you with a detailed explanation of the reasoning behind this decision and how it supports the long-term future of our practice.

“Forestside Medical Practice has been an integral part of the community for decades, providing healthcare services from the main surgery in Dibden Purlieu and our branch surgery in Marchwood.

“In January 2023 we also started to provide care at the urgent care centre within the new Hythe hospital. This is staffed by GPs and advance nurse practitioners from Forestside as a cooperative with our neighbouring practices Waterfront and Waterside.

“GP recruitment is a national problem and coincides with increasing healthcare needs within the community. Despite being a GP surgery that has long been engaged in training doctors to become GPs, we have found it hard to recruit and retain GPs.”

One patient told the A&T he was concerned about how people would get to the Dibden Purlieu surgery. He said: “[It is] too far to walk, and travelling by bus requires two buses and one of them is an irregular service. Car parking facilities are inadequate at the surgery.”

Another said: “[It is] totally ridiculous. I spent all day trying to get an appointment, I phoned at 8am, requested a call back, finally got through at 4pm to be told no appointments. We need to have another doctor surgery open.”

I am strongly opposed to the prospect of no NHS GP provision being physically available within the village community of Marchwood. With a local population of nearly 6000 residents and growing, two strategic housing sites identified in Marchwood, and just a solitary hourly bus service, the loss of our only GP practice is both unacceptable and unsustainable.

Cllr Richard Young, who represents Marchwood on the district council, told the A&T he was “strongly opposed” to the plans.

“With a local population of nearly 6,000 residents and growing, two strategic housing sites identified in Marchwood, and just a solitary hourly bus service, the loss of our only GP practice is both unacceptable and unsustainable.

“I urge Forestside and the NHS to consider the wider picture and to think again.”

Cllr David Harrison, the county councillor for Marchwood, told the A&T he was also against the closure.

“I have been contacted by residents who highly value the fact that the Forestside Medical Practice is easily accessible for them. When you have to rely on public transport to travel things become much more difficult and less convenient.”

He added: “The root of this problem is a national shortage of GPs [and] national government is accountable for that.

“The NHS and medical practices are trying all sorts of things to mitigate the issue but the evidence of the consequences is all too clear.”

The letter to patients states the “only way” to maintain a service is to improve the efficiency of the GPs that it has.

As the Dibden Purlieu site is bigger and specifically designed to be a GP surgery, it can accommodate clinical teams and administration staff together in the same building which helps the cohesiveness and effectiveness of the team, the letter explained.

The letter to patients said the “outdated building” at Marchwood does not meet the standards outlined in the Disability Discrimination Act or by the Care Quality Commission.

While the practice had tried to refurbish the building to meet these standards, it had not been achievable due to the high financial costs involved.

Consolidating resources and focusing efforts on the purpose-built facility at Dibden Purlieu will “optimise service delivery, streamline administrative processes, and enhance the overall patient experience”.

Consultation sessions are being held at Marchwood Village Hall on Monday 8th April between 5pm and 7pm, Saturday 13th April between 9:30am and 11:30am, and Saturday 20th April between 9:30am and 11:30am.

Feedback can also be submitted online at https://bit.ly/3TxD0t9