South Warwickshire Health Matters – NHS Survey on Primary Healthcare Provision

This communication concerns the provision of GP and other health services as part of the new Upper Lighthorne development of 3,000 houses. As such, it affects us all, whether you live in Upper Lighthorne or in one of the neighbouring settlements.

In May this year we first became aware that the provision of GP services for Upper Lighthorne is not a settled matter. Since then, Upper Lighthorne Parish Council, along with 17 other parish councils and meetings, have come together under the name South Warwickshire Health Matters (SWHM) with a common purpose to encourage the NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) to make the vital decisions that will affect future health
provision in all of our communities. We have the support of district and county councillors, and our MP.

SWHM have compiled a statement of joint objectives for GP and health services which we include below. We ask that you complete the ICB survey intended to help them make the appropriate decisions. The survey cn is now closed.  The survey was open until Wednesday 14th December.  If you have problems completing the survey, then please contact Cllr Maggie Hedger – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

By publicising this survey SWHM are not endorsing the survey or the manner in which the ICB are going about their business. We have concerns, some of which are covered in an article in this week’s Stratford Herald which you can read here. We will communicate further on this in due course, but for the moment please complete the ICB survey.

South Warwickshire Health Matters – Statement of Objectives

1. No resident of Upper Lighthorne should have to travel outside of Upper Lighthorne to receive GP services.
   We recognise that residents of Upper Lighthorne currently travel for primary healthcare, but the objective should be that this should no longer be necessary after a certain level of occupancy of the new Upper Lighthorne developments.
2. No surrounding parish should suffer a degradation of GP services as a consequence of primary healthcare provision for Upper Lighthorne.
   A risk of relying on existing neighbouring GP services to take on Upper Lighthorne patients is that these services become over-stretched. Dedicated provision for Upper Lighthorne is essential, and will likely reduce load on neighbouring services, but must not result in a reduction of existing GP services in surrounding parishes
3. . On site provision should be made available as soon as practically possible.
   The longer it takes to open a facility on site, the more new residents will attempt to register with facilities in surrounding villages, risking over-subscription, or difficulty in registering. The Integrated Care Board (formerly CCG) must reach a conclusion as soon as is practical so that options are not limited simply as a consequence of delay.