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Corsham and Box residents outraged over plans to move surgeries

2:23pm Friday 18th April 2008

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Two GPs defending plans to move Corsham and Box surgeries faced an angry crowd of residents, last night at Corsham annual general meeting.

More than a hundred local residents confronted Simon Burrell and Andrew Cowie over controversial plans that have angered patients without transport.

The two doctors who are partners at The Porch Surgery explained their plans to the large crowd and then answered questions from residents.

One angry resident at the meeting said: "Don't fix what isn't broken."

The plans involve closing both The Porch Surgery in Corsham and Box Surgery in a plan to merge them as one at a location near the old entrance to RAF Ludlow Manor.

While the location is still in the planning stages, if it goes ahead many residents have said they will struggle to get to appointments.

Dr Cowie said: "Whatever happens we will keep residents informed, our plans for Rudloe have not been confirmed.

"We want to provide people with a better and wider range of facilities. However, we can't please everybody all of the time."

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Your Say YourThe Wiltshire Gazette and Herald

SEZ, Rudloe says...
8:03pm Fri 18 Apr 08

When all is said and done, the service we would like to receive from the Surgery, be it Box or Corsham has got to meet the needs of the MAJORITY and not the Minority, yes if the Surgeries re-locate the patients who currently walk will have to get there by other means; but similarly the people who travel may well be able to walk.
Basically for every car used, one will be unused!

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ncpwt, Corsham says...
8:40pm Fri 18 Apr 08

"The plans involve closing both The Porch Surgery in Corsham and Box Surgery in a plan to merge them as one at a location near the old entrance to RAF Ludlow Manor." Let's hope it's not Ludlow as that's near Birmingham!

Seriously though, in response to Sez, if two surgeries are reduced to one, the average travel distance will increase. I doubt that in itself is the real issue. The anger is probably more to do with the loss of local amenities and the chipping away at the towns' identities. I doubt moving to Rudloe pleases anyone except perhaps Rudloe residents, so most people will lose out. What would truly benefit the whole area is the addition of an NHS dentist surgery. As I suspect the merging of the doctors' surgeries is pretty much inevitable, can I be the first to suggest this as the use for the vacated buildings.

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donteventhinkit, Corsham says...
10:34am Sat 19 Apr 08

well they will do as they see fit regardless but i have not been here long i dont even know where they are talking about let alone if i could safely get there on foot if its on a regular bus route failing those options I suppose my only option will be to learn to drive and buy a car.

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SEZ, Rudloe says...
1:16pm Sat 19 Apr 08

The proposed site is not in the Back of Beyond, it is approximately 1.2 miles from the current Corsham Surgery and just less than that from the Box Surgery. I think that ncpwt has a great idea for the use of the vacated building. If a brick was laid tomorrow at the new proposed site it would not be ready for quite some time, I am sure that the facilities of roads/travel/buses will all be looked into.

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ps, corsham says...
5:02pm Sat 19 Apr 08

My only concerns are that when everything is put in one basket ie combineing the surgeries that it makes it harder and more expensive for us. Take the Royal United hospital the PCT is closing all our smaller units and putting it into supposedly bigger and better all singing and dancing places with everything in the same building and it takes longer to get an appointment and its harder to keep controle over,with cleaning and administration, the parking ends up being charged at a huge rate and we are all worse off, what happens to the nurses and the receptionists are they all going to be needed I dont think so we have some very good people in both surgeries. Why caint the chippenham hospital be used for all the extra things like blood tests and clinic things and the rooms that are freed employ more doctors as that is the main problem in both Corsham and Box

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Yali, UK says...
4:35pm Sun 20 Apr 08

Think of the poor druggies and how far they will have to walk to get their prescriptions.

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local gone north, South Shields Tyne & Wear says...
4:08pm Wed 23 Apr 08

I was sorry to hear of the possible move of the surgery,& can understand the concerns of many patients, however as I understand the surgery cannot cope with the large number of patients using the facillities,& with the building of new housing estates within the Corsham bouderies surely a move to a central location makes sense.As with all new changes it takes some getting used to but a better service to health care for all must be a priority.

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corshamend, corsham says...
8:35am Wed 7 May 08

The Porch Surgery asked for and got planning approval to expand in 2006.
It looks like they haven't built it.
I believe the PCT wouldn't handover the earmarked funds to allow this to go ahead.
Time for a re-think?

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corshamend, corsham says...
8:37am Wed 7 May 08

The Porch Surgery asked for and got planning approval to expand in 2006.
It looks like they haven't built it.
I believe the PCT wouldn't handover the earmarked funds to allow this to go ahead.
Time for a re-think?

Report this post »

corshamend, corsham says...
8:41am Wed 7 May 08

The Porch Surgery asked for and got planning approval to expand in 2006.
It looks like they haven't built it.
I believe the PCT wouldn't handover the earmarked funds to allow this to go ahead.
Time for a re-think?

Report this post »

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