Medical centre consultation is put back to next spring (From Knutsford Guardian)

Medical centre consultation is put back to next spring

8:00am Monday 10th September 2012 in News By James Wilson

A PUBLIC consultation into a new medical centre for Knutsford has been postponed until next spring.

Earlier this year a proposal was put forward to create a new ‘super surgery’ on the existing site of Knutsford Community Hospital on Bexton Road.

A plan for the site was drawn up by a firm of consultants, but the site is currently home to the hospital and the closed Tatton Ward.

In June Andy Bacon, programme director for the Knutsford project, told Cheshire East Council’s Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee that it was best if the consultation into the new medical centre was grouped together with the permanent closure of Tatton Ward.

The update regarding the new date for the public consultation came from the health working group of Knutsford Town Council when it was asked to speak at the council’s full meeting on Monday.

Clr Andrew Malloy told the council – and members of the public in the audience – that the group last met in July, and it was then that Mr Bacon told members that the consultation would have to be moved from this autumn to next spring.

At that same meeting, Dr Paddy Kearns, from Manchester Road Medical Practice, reiterated that all of the town’s GP surgeries fully supported a move to a new medical centre.

It was originally planned for the medical centre consultation to take place at the same time as the Knutsford Town Strategy – which was released last week – but the meeting was told it was not possible as due to the reorganisation of the health bodies staff were running behind.

Clr Stewart Gardiner said: “The reason they didn’t hit the deadline which was set was because of the work that has been going on with the PCT and the change into commissioning groups.

“It’s not to do with funding or anything like that.”