Lewisham Council’s full Overview & Scrutiny Committee supported calls to oppose the closure of the GP walk in service at the Waldron Health Centre in New Cross.
The report is here.
Councillors were concerned that the proposed closure of the open access walk in centre would put pressure on over stretched A&E Departments locally. Performance across SE London was not meeting performance targets.
Lewisham Clinical Commissioning Group said:
- 46% said they went directly to the Walk-in Centre because didn’t think they’d be able to get an appointment at their GP practice.
- 33% said they had contacted their GP that day but no appointments were available.
- 5% reported they were unable to get through on the telephone to their GP practice.
The Committee heard from the Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign who expressed their opposition to the proposed closure.
Lewisham Councillors were concerned that the closure of the walk in centre before improved access to GP services would leave some without vital services.
Labour Chair, Councillor Alan Hall said: “I want to see more details on how many extra GPs and nurses we are going to get to improve primary care before we agree to this closure. Our A&E Departments are under pressure now. We are concerned that this will not help that especially over the winter months.”
Lewisham Overview & Scrutiny Committee consists of all 45 Non Executive Councillors. Their reports on this subject are here.