Brighton Kemptown MP Simon Kirby has offered to host last-ditch talks in the hope of brokering a deal to keep the Eaton Place doctors’ surgery open.
But yesterday (Wednesday 18 February) one of the partners in the Eaton Place practice, Malcolm Stalker, turned down the offer.
Dr Stalker, who retires at the end of the month, said that the closure was down to NHS England.
His GP surgery hosted a meeting on Monday (16 February) to discuss the dispersal of the patient list. Thousands have yet to register elsewhere.
At the meeting local doctors were offered £25 for every patient that they take from the Eaton Place list. The list had about 5,600 patients when Dr Stalker and his partner Robert Mockett announced their retirement.
Another local doctor, Laura Marshall-Andrews, offered to run Eaton Place as a branch surgery of the Brighton Health and Wellbeing Centre in Hove. But talks faltered.
Mr Kirby said: “This news is very disappointing and frustrating.
“Having worked so hard to put all the interested parties together to enable the approval and ratification by NHS England of the branch application, I was very optimistic that local people would continue to enjoy a GP surgery at Eaton Place.
“It is saddening that the final discussions between these various groups have not been successful.
“I remain committed to finding a solution for patients and firmly believe that Eaton Place remains an appropriate location for a GP surgery.
“I have therefore offered to host a round-table discussion with the current GPs, the doctor who wants to take over the practice and NHS England to try to find a way forward for patients, even at this late stage.”
The Labour parliamentary candidate in Brighton Kemptown, Nancy Platts, said: “News from NHS England that the GP surgery in Eaton Place is now going to close is hugely disappointing for local people.
“In a little over 10 days’ time, around 3,500 patients are going to be left without a GP.
“Premature announcements about a new GP taking over have caused total confusion and this situation has gone from chaos to complete farce.
“I am concerned that there is a now a high risk people will go to A&E which is already under severe pressure.
“I am also calling on NHS England to clarify whether it is true that a payment of £25 per patient is being paid to any GP willing to take on a patient from Eaton Place surgery.”
Three drop-in registration events are being held at the Eaton Place surgery next week – on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday – to sign up patients to other practices.
Dr Stalker and Dr Mockett are both due to retire a few days later – on Saturday 28 February.
An extra registration event is being held at the Wellsbourne Centre in Whitehawk on Wednesday 4 March from 10am to 2pm.
It is understood that Dr Marshall-Andrews and colleagues were willing to buy the premises from Dr Stalker and Dr Mockett. It was not possible to complete the deal by the end of the month.
Dr Stalker was unwilling to rent the surgery while the property transaction was completed. Dr Mockett had offered to stay on to ensure a smooth transition for the remaining Eaton Place patients.
With NHS England actively encouraging patients to register elsewhere – and paying other practices to take them – the financial viability of taking over the Eaton Place surgery was effectively undermined.
If payments are made for taking on just 3,000 of the Eaton Place patients, NHS England will have spent £75,000. It did not offer any financial support to help keep the current practice open.
Dr Stalker is believed to want to sell the site for housing and he and Dr Mockett currently have tenants on the top floor. But the change of use for the rest of the building would require planning permission.
To achieve this, it would be necessary to show that the surgery was no longer needed or that there were adequate alternatives for patients.
Opponents of the closure of the practice will be keen to see whether attendances rise at the already overstretched Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department at the nearby Royal Sussex County Hospital.
If patients formerly on the Eaton Place list start turning up at A&E, the data will be seized on as evidence to try to prevent a change of use.
