Elm Tree Surgery Estates Update:
You may be aware that Elm Tree Surgery needs to move in order to improve the services and access we can offer our patients and staff. We have been working for a long time to find a solution. Most NHS GP Surgery developments happen as a result of a new housing development.
We have been in contact with our local commissioning body (BSW ICB) and the proposed developers of the golf course (Bloor Homes) and have agreed a Statement of Common Ground. The Statement of Common Ground confirms that local healthcare providers face genuine estate constraints, that existing premises cannot expand sufficiently to meet current and future demand, and that Bloor Homes’ scheme offers a credible opportunity to secure land for a modern healthcare facility serving Shrivenham, Watchfield and the surrounding villages.
Since the signing of the Statement of Common Ground, we have been approached by the Barrington Memorial Hall and Recreational Grounds trust and Barrington Homes trust about land that may be suitable for a GP surgery. The local NHS commissioning body (BSW ICB) has not yet had the opportunity to work out the feasibility of this proposition, either logistically or financially.
We have discussed all this as a GP partnership. In the interests of transparency, as we aware there are some posts on facebook, we would like to make our current position clear.
Elm Tree Surgery needs new premises. We believe, having reviewed both sites, that our patients now and, in the future, would be significantly better served by the land on offer from the Bloor Homes development (golf course site).
The Barrington Memorial Hall and Recreational Grounds trust Land has a number of challenges to overcome for use as GP surgery. Road access is a major concern, as development of the access road would be costly and turning out onto the main road near the other junction may not be permitted for safety concerns. All of this has not been worked through and is a significant unknown. The Barrington land size itself is smaller than the golf course site and the breadth and variety of services in the future may be limited as a result of this. Access for services such as breast screening van would not be possible at the Barrington site.
Biodiversity Net Gain would be taken care of by the Bloor site with the NHS not having to factor this in as well. This would have to be done at the Barrington site which would increase development costs to the NHS.
Shrivenham, Watchfield and surrounding villages would end up with a larger and more accessible health centre at the golf course site. This would appear to be more financially viable at the golf course site which in turn means it would likely be built much sooner.
We all want a new GP surgery and the partners are excited by the opportunities. We wanted to ensure with this message that patients can understand the differences between the two sites from our perspective.
The Elm Tree Partners
