AROUND 800 patients of Drybrook Surgery made a case for it to be saved despite having just 12 days to respond to an NHS survey. 

While the surgery, at which 4,000 local people are registered, is at risk of closure, NHS leaders say patients have played their part in public consultation “very, very well”, with the overwhelming rate of response the highest they’ve ever had.

But at an extraordinary meeting of the parish council last night (Wednesday, April 12), councillors and locals said it feels like the decision has already been made, and questioned NHS leaders on why more had not been done previously to secure services for thousands of local residents.

NHS Gloucestershire announced on Thursday, March 30 that options for the future of the surgery were being considered after Mitcheldean Surgery, which had taken over services at Drybrook in December following the retirement of the last remaining GP partner there, opted not to renew their contract. 

Patients were sent a survey on how a closure would affect them, which they had until Tuesday (April 11) to complete. 

A decision is due at a meeting of the NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) on Monday (April 17).

NHS Gloucestershire Director of Primary Care and Place Helen Goodey told the meeting that the decision is being made over such a short period because Mitcheldean’s contract at Drybrook is ending on June 1.

She said the NHS had acted “immediately” to began the process of considering other options once Mitcheldean made the decision to pull out.

She explained that because Mitcheldean had a short time to make the decision to take on services at Drybrook in December, they were placed on a six month contract instead of a longer term one so that they could complete due diligence.

She insisted that Mitcheldean made the short-term arrangement with the full intention of providing services at Drybrook in the long term.

She said they had pulled out for a number of reasons, including the financial implications of the takeover and the quality of care being provided with staff stretched across two sites.

District Councillor Jackie Fraser (Green, Mitcheldean, Ruardean & Drybrook) raised the fact the building is owned by another party, and suggested that could also have been a factor in Mitcheldean’s decision. 

Councillors and locals questioned whether the whole process was fit for purpose, with Parish Councillor Cathy Blake one of many who argued the NHS should have acted sooner to secure a stable, long-term solution for the practice when it became clear that the GPs at Drybrook were thinking of retiring, well in advance of last December.

After Helen explained the situation from an ICB perspective, District Councillor Thom Forester (Ind, Mitcheldean, Ruardean & Drybrook) said attendees had all just heard “a very nice bedtime story”. 

“The NHS trust has got all the money in the world for their overpaid bureuocrats, but very little money to put their hands in their pockets to keep local services going”, he said to a round of applause.

He called on locals to “not make it easy” on the decision makers, citing the overwhelming response to the survey and encouraging them to do all they can to oppose a closure.

His grandfather and fellow District Councillor Andrew Gardiner (Ind, Mitcheldean, Ruardean & Drybrook) said the council should take the issue to local MP Mark Harper.

Council Chair Roy Bardo said Mr Harper had been contacted but they had had no reply, which drew a chorus of grumbles and shouts of “sounds about right” from attendees.

Parish Councillor John Print said the possibility of the surgery’s closure or the emergence of a new provider "doesn't seem like a lot of options", and suggested the partnership model is failing in rural communities.

Helen responded by saying there has been “some interest” from GP partners in taking over the practice, but couldn’t give anymore detail.

County Councillor Terry Hale (Con, Drybrook and Lydbrook) said local people were “frightened” by the prospect of their health services being taken away in an area where public transport is so poor.

Members of the public also spoke passionately about the issue and questioned Helen on whether the ICB had failed the community, to which she repeatedly claimed they are doing everything they can and that “no decision has yet been made”.

One patient said the closure would not only affect the elderly population but also young parents who can’t drive, who will have to “somehow” go elsewhere at a time when local bus services have faced a raft of cuts. 

Finally Helen was asked how much residents’ feedback would factor into the board’s final decision, to which she said “your views do matter” and that their recommendation would be informed by feedback from the survey.

But she did add: “Ultimately my responsibility is to ensure you have a safe, resilient, sustainable service. That’s important”.

The parish council has launched a petition to stop the surgery’s closure which can be found here.