Weston’s Stafford Place GP practice to close in December

 

The Stafford Medical Group which runs Weston-super-Mare’s Stafford Place GP Practice has announced today that the branch will close from December.

 

The Group, which runs both Locking Castle Medical Practice and the branch at Stafford Place, proposed the closure earlier this year to consolidate GP services across the two sites.

 

The proposal was agreed today by the NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (BNSSG CCG) and from 1 December all Stafford Medical Group patients will be seen at Locking Castle.

 

Dr Steven Pearse-Danker, one of the GP Partners at Stafford Medical Group, explained: “Stafford Place is a small branch surgery and has limited services available for patients, therefore the majority of our patients already attend our Locking Castle site for consultations and treatments. 

 

“During the Covid-19 pandemic we have only used Stafford Place for telephone consultations and administration, with patients who have needed to be seen by a clinician going to Locking Castle.

 

While the Stafford Place branch is based in a converted house with limited parking and no nearby pharmacy, Locking Castle Medical Centre is a purpose-built practice with modern facilities including disabled parking, a nearby pharmacy and public transport links.

 

GPs at Stafford Medical Group consulted with patients and the practice’s Patient Participation Group earlier this year on their proposal to close the branch via two online public meetings and a survey before taking their proposal to the BNSSG CCG Primary Care Commissioning Committee.

 

“Dr Michael Leonard, one of the GP partners at Stafford Place Surgery retired in October this year, so to offer the best care we can it seems like the logical next step is to consolidate services at Locking Castle and ensure the future sustainability of the practice.

 

“We are also improving the range of services provided from the Locking Castle site to include more consulting rooms and extra appointments.”

 

Dr Martin Jones, Medical Director at BNSSG CCG added: “We have agreed a request from the Stafford Medical Group to consolidate the Stafford Place and Locking Castle practices to ensure they can continue to be sustainable and benefit all of their patients. Locking Castle has the capacity to accommodate patients from Stafford Place and all Stafford Medical Group patients are already also registered at Locking Castle.

 

“The practice has also introduced the online consultation tool AskMyGp which means that some patients can attend appointments from their homes and without the need to travel. This system has been in place in other GP practices in Weston for around two years and has proved much more convenient for patients who need help with certain conditions.”