A Somerset doctors’ surgery won’t be accepting new patients for the next few weeks – because it only has one GP contracted to it.
West Coker Surgery on Dibbles Lane in West Coker has been experiencing “a number of operational challenges” in the last few months, with its patient numbers increasing at the same time as one of its main doctors decided to leave.
The Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) – which decides how Somerset’s health resources are allocated – has imposed a temporary list closure on the practice to ease the pressure, meaning no new patients can register until April 1.
It has also confirmed the surgery’s boundaries will change, meaning fewer people in and around Yeovil will be able to register there in the future.
A report on the surgery’s plight was discussed by the CCG’s primary care commissioning committee when it met virtually on Thursday morning (March 10).
Jennifer McConnell, the CCG’s primary care contracts officer, said the list closure would “support practice resilience, given the surgery is currently experiencing significant challenge in recruiting a salaried GP following a recent resignation, in addition to a rapidly expanding list size.
“We are supporting the practice in their efforts to recruit, and an action plan is in place to ensure a positive outcome.”
West Coker Surgery is one of two doctors’ surgeries in Somerset with only one contracted GP – the other being Tawstock Medical Centre on St Mary’s Crescent in Chard.
Tanya Whittle, the CCG’s deputy director of contracting, said there was “a regular locum in place” to assist the existing GP in handling patients.
In addition to the list closure, the surgery is to implement new patient boundaries after it came to light that it had been operating on incorrect assumptions for more than five years.
When West Coker Surgery was created in 2016, from the merger of two Westlake Surgery practices, it was agreed by NHS England that it would reduce its boundary to “recognise the reduced clinical capacity”.
The changes would have made it more difficult for patients living outside the village to register – though it did include an area of Crewkerne as a compromise to “provide patient choice”.
But this change was never formally implemented, with the practice arguing that doing so “had the potential to increase operational pressure to the point where a contract hand-back would have to be considered.”
Ms Whittle said: “It came to light through discussions with West Coker about their resilience and stability that decisions made in 2016 hadn’t been contractually enacted – so we have tidied that up.”
While the new boundaries will benefit village residents, it may make it harder for those living on the outskirts of Yeovil to register – including residents of the Bunford Heights development of 97 homes on the A30 West Coker Road.
The south-western edge of Yeovil is expected to see significant housing growth in the coming years, with plans for 95 homes south of West Coker Road being approved in May 2018 and a further site east of Nash Lane currently being advertised as a development opportunity.
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