GPs snubbed a planned health centre on the Surbiton Hospital site, leaving critics branding the plans a “white elephant”.
Half of GPs snub new Surbiton health centre
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Comments
Oh dear, and what a shame. It would have been so simple to ask the local GP practices FIRST and just perhaps get them to sign on the dotted line before commencing such an expensive project
I like my GP practice where it is, the care I receive is personal and good.
The whole idea of lumping up to 12 GP practices under one roof, was always going to prove a shambles in terms of travelling, parking and strain on the area, not to mention lack of personal care.
Absolutely. Isn't the whole idea that you can have surgeries within easy walking distance of where people live? Hence, there is a surgery in St Andrews Road, one in Glenbuck Road etc etc.
It is ridiculous to expect people to come from the riverside part of Surbiton all the way up to that site.
It also shows that the health authorities change their minds when it suits them. It wasn't that long ago that I moved half a mile down the road and was told be my surgery that I would need to move to a different one because I now lived too far away!
Who on earth really thought up to 12 GP's practices would move in with no parking for patients let alone staff,will a Dentist move in or will empty units be available for Charity shops and Estate Agents?
This whole exercise has the makings of a cracking farce,especially with a school that is located in quite the wrong part of the borough to service the burgeoning population East of the Ewell Road and again no parking,why do we bemoan parking when most normal folks will only shop or visit IF they can park at a low or free rate,thats why most high streets are full of empty shops,Oh and of course the piontless minimum wage which stops people employing more staff.
Poppy,
regardless of what happens to the doctors surgeries, you are utterly wrong wrong wrong about the school location. Just where have you been for the last few years? Surely you know that Surbiton was the area hardest hit by the primary school place shortage. More bulge classes were crammed onto playgrounds here than anywhere else in the borough. Fewer pupils got places at their nearest schools, and more had to travel further across the borough to get a place.
The hospital site is the absolute ideal location for the new school. It is the epicentre of the problem area, i.e. the area not covered by the catchment area of Maple Infants, Christ Church, St Matthews or Grand Avenue.
Excluding bulge classes, the catchment area of Maple Infants wouldn't have reached the top of St James road, so there will be many dozens of families west of the Ewell Road, in Surbiton town centre and in Oakhill who will now have a guarantee of getting a school place within walking distance. No more driving/bussing them down to Tolworth Infants, which good for the families concerned and good for reducing congestion on the Ewell Road.
Moreover, the hospital site is the only site in the area that is big enough for a two form entry. The only feasible alternative would have been the Surbiton Station car park, but it could only have been compulsorily purchased if no readily available alternatives existed.
Locating schools closest to where they are needed is the best way of reducing congestion. Funny enough, the same argument can be applied to argue that there should never have been an attempt to centralise all surgeries on the one site. Fewer surgeries on the hospital site will result in less congestion.
I think that the news about fewer surgeries is actually a good thing for Surbiton. We get our much needed primary school. Perhaps the buildings not used for additional surgeries can be put to other community use, or the building could be made smaller to allow more play space for children. Or the space could even allow expansion to a three form entry school, which is what the council were originally hoping to put on the site.
regards
Paul
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