PATIENTS of a Wrexham GP surgery which has been temporarily closed due to Covid are now being consulted on its permanent closure.

Alyn Family Doctors has launched the consultation on its proposal to close the GP surgery at Gresford Health Centre, which housed Alyn Family Doctors, along with district nurses and health visitors.

Since the temporary closure, which began in March 2020, patients wanting to see a GP have been asked to attend Alyn Family Doctors's other surgeries - Rossett Surgery and Llay Health Centre.

Gresford Health Centre has remained a hub for district nurses and health visitors.

Previous bid

A previous bid to close the GP surgery made in 2019 was rejected by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

A letter and briefing pack sent out to local politicans by partners at the practice as part of the consultation reads: "Alyn Family Doctors will be applying to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to permanently transfer GP services from Gresford Health Centre to Llay Health Centre and Rossett Surgery.

"This submission will be made in September. A consultation for our Gresford registered patients will run for four weeks from Monday 26th July until Monday 23rd August.

"As this briefing pack explains, this would make permanent the current working arrangements which have been in place for 16 – 17 months, during which time appointment numbers have increased and the practice has become more efficient in the face of increased demand.

"We know that any decision to change how medical services are run is difficult, and you will inevitably receive questions from your constituents.

"This briefing pack outlines our reasoning and the mitigations we’ve put in place, and provides extra information and statistics which we hope will be of use to you when talking to your constituents.

"We would be happy to arrange individual meetings with you to discuss this proposal should you wish; please email the practice on GeneralEnquiries.AlynFamilyDoctors@wales.nhs.uk and we will make arrangements."

Huge pressure

A practice spokesperson told The Leader: "Despite the huge pressure on healthcare provision in the last 16 months, Alyn Family Doctors has kept face-to-face appointments and increased access via video, text and e-consultations as well as delivering almost 17,000 Covid vaccinations.

"Forty five per cent of patients registered at Gresford have been seen face-to-face since April 2020.

"Working over two sites means we’re more efficient and we’ve been able to increase the number of GP appointments by 135 per week (17%).

"We now offer 935 GP appointments per week. This proposal means we can continue to increase access for all whilst ensuring that the most vulnerable in our community are not left behind by the growth in online access.”

Increase in GP appointments

A letter sent out to patients as part of the consultation said that Rossett Surgery was now open full-time for telephone and face-to-face consultations, giving patients in Gresford an accessible location, only seven minutes away from Gresford High Street on public transport.

The letter reads: "We propose to make this arrangement permanent. It means we can continue our increased appointment numbers, continue to be more efficient, and continue to improve our services to you. We are investing more to make sure that the benefits of new technology and new ways of working continue to widen access whilst making sure that no patient is left behind.

"For instance, patients who cannot use eConsult will be able to call us and our trained reception team will assist them by going through the form over the telephone.

"We accept that for some patients, accessing services at Llay or Rossett is less convenient than Gresford. But we are rooted in this community. We are here to serve you, and in the best tradition of the NHS, to provide conscientious care from cradle to grave. This proposal is necessary because it allows us to provide a better service to you."

Calls to extend consultation

Local councillor Andrew Atkinson has vowed to fight the plans to close the surgery, which is on Poplar Avenue in Gresford.

Cllr Atkinson said: "Alyn Family Doctors have now made clear that they are re-submitting an application to the health board which would involve shutting Gresford practice to GP appointments as we know it. This was previously rejected by the health board for which we were all very grateful.

"Gresford has been shut for a long time now due to Covid and it has caused great difficulty for many residents with concerns often raised. I see no way that the doctors can point back to this period and say that it worked and therefore they can shut the practice with no impact as there are very real difficulties for my residents not least with transportation.

"I have written to the doctors asking them to extend or delay the consultation as August is a bad month for this to happen due to holidays etc for residents. The strength of feeling is huge as demonstrated at our previous consultation events and this needs to be given proper chance to be aired again if necessary by the community to the practice."

Cllr Jenny Dutton, chair of Gresford Community Council, said she had just been made aware of this and the community council would be raising this issue with Alyn Family Doctors at a prearranged meeting on Thursday, July 29.

Simon Jones, Assistant Director of Primary Care in the East of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “We have advised Alyn Family Doctors that they will need to submit a new application for the permanent closure of Gresford Health Centre.

"Patient engagement, including comments, concerns and observations are a key element of the application that the health board will consider when making its decision. We are currently awaiting submission of their application.”

The full letter sent to Gresford Health Centre patients

RE: Proposal to transfer GP services from Gresford Health Centre to Rossett Surgery and Llay Health Centre (Cymraeg yn dilyn)

Since March 2020, Alyn Family Doctors has not operated out of Gresford Health Centre. The building housed Alyn Family Doctors, District Nurses, and Health Visitors (a specialist team who look after new mums and babies).

At first lockdown, a risk assessment found it would be unsafe for three, separate healthcare teams to use the site together. If one doctor, nurse, or health visitor were to contract Covid, all three separate teams would have to self-isolate. This would have been disastrous for the health needs of our community in the best of times, let alone in the midst of a global pandemic. As Alyn Family Doctors had the use of other buildings, we vacated Gresford allowing it to remain an essential hub for the District Nurses and Health Visitors. With just two teams, there is sufficient space for social distancing so one person contracting Covid would not affect the other team.

Despite the huge pressures on healthcare provision in the last 16 months, Alyn Family Doctors has kept face-to-face appointments and increased access via video consultations, text and 24hr-a-day eConsult, a web-based consultation service. We have also delivered over 15,000 Covid-19 vaccinations from our clinics at Llay Royal British Legion.

Demand for GPs has increased dramatically and we have responded. Working over two sites means we’re more efficient and our staff works better together and is more resilient. We have increased the number of GP appointments by 135 per week. That is now 935 GP appointments per week for our community and 700 nurse appointments.

Through being more efficient, changing how we work, and not being stretched across three sites, we now offer 17% more GP appointments per week and 15% more nursing appointments per week that we did pre-pandemic. Rossett Surgery is now open full-time for telephone and face-to-face consultations giving patients in Gresford an accessible location, only 7 minutes away from Gresford High Street on public transport.

Alyn Family Doctors is continuing to invest in more staff, more appointments, and better service to you across both sites. You will continue to be able to be seen in either Llay or Rossett at your convenience and you will continue to be able to request a home visit in Gresford as you always have done previously. On top of all that, Gresford Pharmacy is able to take your repeat prescription requests, just as it has done over the past 16 months.

We propose to make this arrangement permanent. It means we can continue our increased appointment numbers, continue to be more efficient, and continue to improve our services to you. We are investing more to make sure that the benefits of new technology and new ways of working continue to widen access whilst making sure that no patient is left behind.

For instance, patients who cannot use eConsult will be able to call us and our trained reception team will assist them by going through the form over the telephone.

We accept that for some patients, accessing services at Llay or Rossett is less convenient than Gresford. But we are rooted in this community. We are here to serve you, and in the best tradition of the NHS, to provide conscientious care from cradle to grave. This proposal is necessary because it allows us to provide a better service to you

Alyn Family Doctors