Bury Road Surgery: Gosport Borough Council asks doctor and health body to work together to keep under-threat practice open

A plea has been made to two sides having a dispute over a doctor’s surgery to work together to try and keep the practice open, as it could be set to close in two months’ time.
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Gosport Borough Council has discussed the fate of the Bury Road Surgery.

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Councillors discussed the events leading up to the proposed closure with Dr Anandan and a locality director from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB). Council leader Peter Chegwyn has already asked for the decision to be reviewed.

Bury Road Surgery in Bury RoadBury Road Surgery in Bury Road
Bury Road Surgery in Bury Road

Speaking to councillors, Dr Anandan said that the ICB had demonstrated ‘tunnel vision’ and is fixed on the closure.

Dr Anandan submitted a letter of resignation in early December and subsequently rescinded his resignation to pursue the option of a nurse-led practice.

He said: ‘No serious consideration has been given regarding the viable options – we have given them a detailed business plan for a nurse-led practice model.

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‘They rejected my request and I decided to rescind my notice of retirement in order to arrange this option and give the practice more time – they rejected that.

‘The ICB has caused untold stress and worry to our patients and staff by putting in the local press, without any consent or approval by me or our staff, that the surgery is closing.

‘They seem to think they can ride roughshod over the surgery and continually quote it’s in the best interest of our patients, it’s all lip service and it’s damaging and smearing our excellent care.

‘Patient lists in Gosport are at bursting point and it will have an overall negative effect on care and patient safety if our patients were dispersed.’

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Dr Anandan also discussed the possibility of a social enterprise model which has been adopted by a single surgery in London.

In response, Keeley Ellis, the ICB’s locality director for south eastern Hampshire, said: ‘We’ve taken the proposals very seriously and just to add clarity this is not our position to close the practice, this is Dr Anandan’s decision to resign.

‘We initially considered the application for Dr Anandan to resign and the available options to us in early December but at that point, Dr Anandan already signalled that he wished to rescind his resignation.

‘So at that point, we entered into a contractual process with Dr Anandan and the practice and therefore when we’re in contractual action we’re not in a position to formally consult patients.’

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Mrs Ellis explained that the nurse-led proposal would be unsuitable because nurses cannot hold a general medical services contract as set out in the NHS act.

The social enterprise model was also deemed unfit as it doesn’t require a GMS contract which remains in statute for Bury Road surgery.

Following the debate, the council passed a motion that ‘expresses concern’ about the closure and the ‘timeframe in which the decision has been made’.

It read: ‘The council asks that consideration be given to delaying the proposed closure of March 31 long enough for both sides to undertake full due diligence and consideration of various options to enable an informed decision of a viable solution to maintain a general practice on the site.’