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Spalding's Pennygate Surgery will be getting a new lease of life




An abandoned GP surgery site could be used to treat patients once again - with health chiefs in talks about giving it an ‘upgrade’.

The former Pennygate Surgery in Spalding has been empty for four years - but it could now reopen at the start of 2023.

Lincolnshire ICB’s Sarah-Jane Mills told a public meeting on Monday that discussions are ‘ongoing’ for the Pennygate building.

The former Pennygate Surgery, Spalding
The former Pennygate Surgery, Spalding

The director of primary care told Monday’s meeting in Spalding that the facility does need upgrading but that bosses want it to be ‘reinstated into the community’.

It has since been confirmed to the Spalding Guardian that another GP surgery has purchased the premises - with a view to it running as a ‘branch’ site from early next year.

Sarah Fletcher, chief executive officer of watchdog Healthwatch Lincolnshire welcomed news of Pennygate’s possible return.

She said: “Since the Spalding GP Surgery was commissioned as a direct result of the closure of Pennygate to provide additional access to GP services for residents living in and around Pennygate, Healthwatch Lincolnshire believes the purchase of the old Pennygate site to provide continued access to GP services is a positive step for Spalding.”

Bosses say that the Pennygate decision is not linked to the consultation on the proposal to axe the Spalding GP Surgery at the Johnson Hospital.

That consultation has now officially closed - and bosses will now begin an ‘expression of interest’ process to find a new service provider.

A campaign was set up to fight the decision - raising fears about what will happen to Spalding GP Surgery’s 3,000 patients.

Monday’s meeting offered patients the chance to air their frustrations over the move.

Many residents are upset at the thought of being forced to go to another surgery against their will.

Before she died last week, Coun Angela Newton had called for a GP surgery for the west of Spalding - and had taken Mrs Mills for a tour around the town to explain the need for increased services to cater for a growing population.

Hopes for the Pennygate plan

News that patients could be returning to a closed surgery has been welcomed by watchdog bosses.

Sarah Fletcher of Healthwatch Lincolnshire is hopeful that the reopening of Spalding’s Pennygate Surgery will help the 3,000 patients who could be in search of a new doctors.

The watchdog’s chief executive officer says that this move could be helpful for the patients who may need to move from Spalding GP Surgery.

She said: “News of the closure of The Spalding GP Surgery was - and continues to be - a major issue for Spalding, particularly with the significant growth in housing for the town.

“We are all aware of the pressures facing the NHS with both demand and staffing levels some of the most significant issues.

“No longer is it as simple to suggest commissioning new services is the solution, buildings are one thing, however, having the people to staff it is another.

“On behalf of patients who will be needing to register at either Munro or Beechfield surgeries, we hope this additional facility will offer them access to a range of GP services at that end of town.”

Pennygate Surgery closed its doors in September 2018 after having been judged ‘inadequate’ twice within the space of a year. The closure coincided with the retirement of Dr Azmeena Nathu.

At the time, the surgery’s 3,460 patients were ‘temporarily transferred’ to the Spalding GP Surgery at the Johnson Hospital or took places at Munro and Beechfield medical centres.

In 2019, after a campaign led by Coun Angela Newton, the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) assured patients that ‘if suitable premises became available in the Pennygate area, it would consider a move back to west side of Spalding.’

It has been suggested that a new surgery should be named in Coun Newton’s honour.



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