Tettenhall Medical Practice says it has been experiencing difficulty in managing and sustaining the branch surgery in Wood Road for some time and has made a request to Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group for it to close, with services instead being centralised on a single site at Lower Green Surgery. The consultation continues until Sunday 15 September.
The meeting of Health Scrutiny Panel will take place at Linden House, 211 Tettenhall Road, Wolverhampton, on Thursday (12 September) at 1.30pm.
Representatives from Tettenhall Wood Road Surgery, the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group and the City of Wolverhampton Council's Public Health team will be in attendance to listen to the debate.
Statements will be made by campaigners who are fighting to keep the surgery open, by the CCG and by the practice, with panel members also invited to contribute to the debate. Members of the public will be able to observe the meeting, and contribute via a comments box through which they can submit any points they would want considering in the future.
Chair of the Health Scrutiny Panel, Councillor Phil Page, said: "This is a good opportunity for members of the panel to understand and question the reasoning behind the proposed closure of the branch and to scrutinise any likely impact it may have on patients and other health services in the area were the closure to go ahead."
Health Scrutiny Panel exists to have an overview and to scrutinise all health-related issues, including liaison with local NHS Trusts, Clinical Commissioning Groups, Health and Wellbeing Together Board and HealthWatch Wolverhampton. The other main items on Thursday's agenda are the Quality Accounts of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, the National Audit of End of Life Care and Brexit.
Meanwhile, the practice is holding a drop-in event about the future of the Wood Road Surgery on Wednesday (11 September), supported by Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group. The event, part of the ongoing consultation, also takes place at Linden House from 4pm to 8pm.
Patients and residents will be able to meet with local clinicians, ask questions and find out more about the proposed closure of the branch surgery. There will be a number of exhibition stands with key information on travel and transport, appointments, prescriptions, primary care and buildings.
Dr Helen Hibbs, Accountable Officer at Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We are committed to giving local people every opportunity to have their say, so we are pleased to be holding this special drop-in event. We value the feedback we have already received and thank everyone who has taken the time to share their views with us."
The consultation survey and further information about the proposed consultation is available on the Tettenhall Medical Practice website.
