A councillor says he joined a protest over proposals to close a Burntwood GP surgery after saying he “wasn’t too convinced” by assurances from a health chief.
The facility at the Burntwood Health and Wellbeing Centre has been earmarked to shut in March 2024.
The decision by the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (ICB) comes despite a new surgery at neighbouring Cherry Close not being likely to open until 2025.
It will mean around 5,000 patients will need to be dispersed to other sites across the town instead once the closure takes place.
An ICB chief told members of Lichfield District Council’s overview and scrutiny committee that there was capacity locally to accommodate the additional numbers, adding that support would be given to patients needing to switch.
But Cllr Wai-Lee Ho, Conservative representative for Highfield ward, said he had decided to join local residents who protested against the plans over the weekend.
The member of the overview and scrutiny committee told Lichfield Live:
“At the last meeting I demanded assurances from the ICB telling them that I needed assurances that there would be no disruption to patient care.
“I wasn’t too convinced that I got the level of assurance I had hoped for so I decided to join the protest outside the Burntwood Health and Wellbeing Centre on Saturday morning.
“It was a great turnout with strong cross-party support, which is fantastic because this quite rightly transcends party politics.”
Cllr Wai-Lee Ho, Lichfield District Council
Cllr Ho’s decision comes after Cllr Mike Wilcox, chairman of the overview and scrutiny committee, said the group remained “extremely concerned” despite the assurances from the ICB.
But Michael Galvin, who will represent Labour in the Summerfield and All Saints ward at the local elections in May, said the Conservative councillors should not be surprised by the impact of their party’s national decisions on local health provision.
“The NHS is being stripped to the bone by this Tory government, but what surprised me was the local Tory councillors positioning themselves near the front of the protest.”
Michael Galvin
Ah, that canard used by politicians (of all colours and none) when their policies are not working.
With the report today from the British Social Attitudes survey, saying that public satisfaction with health and care services is now just 29 per cent = fallen from a peak of 70 per cent in 2010 – of course no Conservative candidate in Burntwood would want voters to realise their party had been in charge in all that time.
The Integrated Care Board claim they are following the Conservative Government’s guidance/rules.
This explains why the MP has done so little, or anything, to support the 5000 patients or, indeed, the patients that will be affected at the other surgeries and why he did not attend the demonstration on Saturday.
Well Done Councillor! Do hope the protests are successful.
At last someone speaking up for Burntwood
Quite right Mr Galvin. If the tories hadn’t stripped funding in the first place wouldn’t be in this mess now.
Roll on May when they will be replaced with a Labour Council who will finally run LDC properly.
I contacted Mr Fabricant recently, regarding my concerns about the NHS. I was gob smacked when he replied to me, and assured me that all the current problems faced by the NHS, are because of nurses strikes and COVID. There wasn’t a shred accepting any responsibility – just lies.
Neither he not his party will take ANY responsibility for the current crisis – and that’s precisely why it won’t get any better.
I would have more sympathy with Cllr Ho’s late conversion to this important campaign if he’d written personally to the ICB or to his own GP surgery which, when I asked at the demonstration last Saturday, he hadn’t. This is what the Patient Participation Group at the surgery has been asking of all those registered with a Burntwood surgery to do for several weeks now – including sharing the contact details. Perhaps he could also ask his MP to do more than share a standard reply with his constituents and lobby Ministers on our behalf.
* local elections coming up maybe Cllr?
Worried about anything?
Hypocrite. His party have cut health services year on year since 2010. But now the cuts affect him and his family he doesn’t like the cuts any more. But they are OK for the rest of us, of course.
How nice to see a Conservative councillor who appreciates the value of peaceful protest! Perhaps he could contact our Conservative MP and our Conservative government and point out to them the importance of protecting our democratic right to protest as they seem hellbent on destroying it.
Yes, well done to Councillor Wai Lee for stepping up and showing his support.
Its sad, but unsurprising, to to see that the local Labour leader, his wife (Leader of Burntwood Town Council) and the aspiring Labour councillor lambasting him for this though…
The Politics of the above situation Conservatives v Labour did not even enter my Mind.
The Closure of these Services and the fact that many residents are affected by this is the Main subject of debate. At least Wa-Lee Ho has shared his voice in objection along with other objectors.