Wilson Health Centre and Walk in Closure Frequently Asked Questions 1. What is happening to my GP practice? The Wilson Health Centre will close to registered patients from 31st March 2017, meaning that patients registered with the practice will not be able to book registered GP appointments from this practice after this date. 2. Why is my practice closing? Concordia Health Limited who run your practice are completing the last year of their contract with NHS England to provide the Wilson Health Centre service. In addition to this, the temporary premises used to provide the current service will need to be vacated as the site is subject to a plan for redevelopment. NHS property services are unable to provide alternative accommodation. Merton Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS England would like to make clear that this decision to close is in no way related to the care provided or the performance of Concordia Health and the Wilson Health centre team. The Wilson Health centre team has always provided a safe, caring and effective service for both its registered patients and those patients that have also attended the walk-in service and has always responded to the needs of their patients and the requirements of Merton CCG and NHS England. It has been confirmed there is sufficient capacity within Merton practices to absorb the patients. 3. When is the Wilson Health Centre closing? The practice will close its services to registered patients on 31st March 2017. After this date you will no longer be able to receive primary care medical services from doctors at this surgery. Whilst you do not have to do anything immediately, it is advised that you register with an alternative practice before 31st March 2017 to ensure that you can receive uninterrupted care. 4. How have we informed and engaged with patients that may be effected by the closure Patients received first letter w/c 5 th December 2016; second letter w/c 3 rd January; and will receive third letter w/c 6 th February. Local Merton practices within 1.5 miles of the practice were written to on 6 th December 2016. These were followed up by phone calls from 7 th December 2016 to discuss further and address any enquiries on staffing issues or immediate concerns.
Patient engagement sessions took place on 12 th December, 16 th January and 31 st January. (A total of 4 drop-in sessions). Drop-in events to date have been successful in supporting patients with the re-registration process. Practice leaflets for practices within 1 mile, maps, local transport details and catchment area information were made available at the events. There has been good attendance at all events. Roughly 30 patients attended events on the 12 th December and 50 on the 16 th. These were co-led by NHS England. 5. I am registered with Wilson Health Centre what do I have to do? You need to register with a new GP practice. There are lots of GP practices close to Wilson Health Centre who are currently accepting new patients. The contact details for these practices are attached to this information sheet. You should contact directly the surgery with which you would like to register and ask them to register you. To find out more about the surgeries cited here, or to search for alternative surgeries in the area, you can visit the NHS Choices websites at www.nhs.uk. During the registration process your new surgery will need to check that you live within their catchment area. They will ask you to complete a registration form, giving details such as your name and address, date of birth, your NHS number (if you know it) and the name and address of your previous GP at Wilson Health Centre. We advise that you register with a new practice before 31st March 2017. 6. What will happen to my medical records currently stored with Wilson Health Centre? When you register with a new practice your records will be transferred to your new practice. Equally, repeat prescriptions and medical test results will be transferred to your new practice. You are not responsible for transferring anything to your new practice, although if you attend your new practice soon after registering, then it would be sensible to take along any repeat prescriptions or medical letters that might be relevant to your treatment. 7. How soon after registering can I visit my new practice? Once you have completed the registration process at your new practice, and once your medical records have been transferred, you can make appointments at your new practice and you will no longer be able to make appointments with Wilson Health Centre. 8. What is happening to the walk-in centre at Wilson Health Centre? We are expecting the walk-in centre contract to end as at 31st March 2017 but the service will continue to be provided from Wilson Health Centre until then. 9. Why is the Walk in Centre Closing?
Unfortunately the Wilson Walk-in Centre does not meet the latest Commissioning Standards for Integrated Urgent Care. In addition, planning permission for the temporary accommodation housing the Walk-in Centre on the Wilson site has expired. Merton CCG has been working on plans to provide enhanced GP access from alternative sites since the Wilson site is due to be developed into a state of the art health and wellbeing facility. Having previously been extended, the service contract for the walk-in centre expires on 31 st March. The primary aim is to bring the service in line with the new national specifications for urgent and emergency care 1 to make sure residents have the best possible access to the care they need. The final decision on the future of the service is firmly rooted on the feedback from engagement about urgent and out of hours care undertaken over the last couple of years both locally and nationally 2. 10. Who uses the Walk in Centre? Merton CCG has conducted an in-depth analysis of patients who attend the Walk-in Centre. This shows that a high percentage of people presented with coughs, colds, sore throats, flu like symptoms, ear pain, and fever. These are not the sort of conditions which would be dealt with by an A+E department. We would encourage patients to visit their local pharmacy or GP practice as this is the reason we are choosing to invest in our primary care services. 11. What is the future for the Wilson Site? East Merton Model of Health and Wellbeing An exciting project called the East Merton Model of Health and Wellbeing, jointly led by Merton CCG with the London Borough of Merton, is in development to help address the greater health needs in the East of the borough. Over the next few years, we will co-create a new Health and Wellbeing Centre on the Wilson Hospital site to enable easier access to Primary Care, investigations and treatment as well as wellbeing services for mental, physical and financial support led by the local community for the people of East Merton. Statement from Dr Douglas Hing GP and Merton CCG Clinical Director GP St George's Hospital Emergency Department 1 https://www.myhealth.london.nhs.uk/system/files/final%20london%20uec%20facilities%20and%20system%20specifica tions%20november%202015.pdf 2 http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/keogh-review/pages/about-the-review.aspx
Wilson Redevelopment Timetable Engagement - Community at the heart of the development Engagement so far Community conversations engagement events (August-September 2016) Merton Voluntary Services Council Workshop (December 2016) Community ideas for the community component Future plans On-going conversations including use of online/social media Extensive input of community & voluntary groups Establish a community board / shareholder group approach for the community component Health & wellbeing services
Community Component The information on the East Merton Model of Health and Wellbeing has been provided by Public Health. For more information or share your views we encourage you to contact us by email on wilsoncentre.changes@nhs.net or by phone 0203 668 1292 NHS England (London Regional Team) Merton Clinical Commissioning Group