Former patients and stakeholders who represent the local community are being invited to attend a series of engagement events in October, which will discuss the future of the Victoria Park Medical Centre site as well as individuals’ experiences of accessing GP services since the centre closed.
In August 2021, the very difficult decision to close Victoria Park Medical Centre was made. This was due to safety concerns, following a reduction in services and ongoing clinical staffing shortages at the centre.
While every effort was made to find a solution to allow the practice to continue to provide safe patient services at the practice, it was not possible to find a resolution which would meet the needs of the patients or the practice.
While patients have now been re-registered with other local practices in the area, there is now an opportunity to discuss the current and future healthcare needs of the community to understand what additional local health services might be needed.
Dr Jeremy Imms, Associate Clinical Director, Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group said: “We would like to thank the former staff and patients of Victoria Park Medical Centre for their ongoing support and patience during this incredibly unsettling period.”
“Closing the medical centre was not a decision that was taken lightly, but our priority now is to understand people’s experiences of accessing GP services since the closure as well as finding out what healthcare services are needed in the area and why.”
“We don’t have all the answers yet, which is why it is so important that we have these conversations now, so we capture the thoughts and views of former patients, the local community as well as key stakeholders.”
“While these engagement events will be used to listen to and hear from people about their current experiences, it is also important that we get the next steps right.”
Three drop-in engagement events will be held at Victoria Park Community Centre in October 2021 and will provide an opportunity for people to have their say.
Monday 11 October from 5.30pm – 8pm
Tuesday 12 October from 10am – 12pm
Wednesday 13 October from 1.30pm – 4pm
For those unable to attend a session, there will be an opportunity to have your say online through a patient and stakeholder survey. The survey will be available until Sunday 17 October. If individuals would like to discuss other ways of taking part in the engagement, other than the drop-in events or the online survey, they can email somccg.engagement@nhs.net or call Somerset CCG’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 0800 0851 067.
