Delight over GP surgery decision

A Chorley GP whose patients launched a campaign to keep her as their doctor has been told by NHS bosses that she can remain at the helm of the surgery she has run for more than a decade.

Dr. Ann Robinson had faced two and a half years of uncertainty over her future at the Withnell Health Centre after other providers were invited to bid to take over the operation of the practice.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) she was “completely delighted” she would now be able to continue as the lead GP at the Railway Road facility  – news which she said had brought one long-time patient to tears.

The saga began following the dissolution of a previous partnership between Dr. Robinson and another medic at the surgery in late 2021, which – under NHS rules – meant the practice then had to be opened up to anybody who wanted to pitch for the contract to deliver its services.

The outcome of that procurement exercise originally resulted in a decision – in January 2023 – to hand the health centre over to a conglomerate that operates more than 40 practices across the North West.

However, as the LDRS has documented, the move was greeted with fury by patients – more than 1,500 of whom lodged objections with the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB).    That response – along with acknowledged flaws in the NHS’s initial public consultation over the matter – saw the decision reversed and the process restarted.

Dr. Robinson and her team had to put together a second bid to keep control of the practice and were advised on Thursday that they had been successful.

She told the LDRS that the support of her patients had shown the enduring importance and appreciation of “the family doctor”.

“That’s what people want – and the continuity [it provides] is what works best.   If I know your history and what has helped you in the past – and what hasn’t – it is better for patient care.

“People feel so strongly about this place – some have been patients here for 50 years and they can tell you all the GPs that have looked after them.

“The first patient I told [about the successful bid] has been a really strong supporter – and he actually started crying. He said, ‘Doctor, this is so much better than a prescription.’”

This time round, Dr. Robinson, who took charge of the practice in 2013, turned out to be the only bidder for the contract – something she puts down to the local campaign demonstrating the depth of support for the existing service and so “putting off” any potential challengers.

She thanked not only those residents who rallied around the cause, but also loyal staff whom she described as being “amazing”.

“We couldn’t have done it without each and every one of them playing such an important part – including our practice manager, Nicola, who had to put in the really hard graft of preparing the new bid,” Dr. Robinson added.

Meanwhile, Louise France, who led the campaign to keep the village’s much-loved GP in post – which included a £15,000 fundraiser to secure specialist support for the production of the fresh bid – said the community was “incredibly happy and relieved that the ICB have come to the right decision”.

“[It] has been a very long, stressful and difficult time for both staff and patients.  I would like to thank our dedicated GP, Dr. Robinson, and her fantastic staff who have fought tirelessly over the last 18 months to save the health centre.

“Tens of thousands of pounds of Dr. Robinson’s own savings have been lost on this unnecessary fight and all the staff have made huge sacrifices [and] worked extra hours, unpaid, to try to navigate the challenging situation that they have been faced with – but they never once considered giving up on Withnell Health Centre or its patients,” said Louise, who is the daughter of a previous GP at the surgery, of some 30 years, Dr. Margaret France.

The latter rejoiced in the fact the “first class service we have come to expect” would continue, but bemoaned what she said was the “wasted time and effort” involved in the lengthy procurement process.

The ICB’s primary care commissioning committee accepted the recommendation of its procurement evaluation panel that the practice’s in-house bid should be accepted.

The results of the latest GP patient survey show that all of those patients at the Withnell facility who responded felt the healthcare professional who dealt with them at their last appointment was “good at treating them with care and concern”, while 99 percent found the reception and administrative staff helpful – above the Lancashire and national averages.

With the future of the health centre now secured, Dr. Robinson says her focus is on maintaining the standard of care that patients had battled so hard to defend.

While that means preserving the family doctor ethos on which the practice was founded – originally in the home of its first GP, half a century ago – Dr. Robinson is keen to stress the surgery is not stuck in the past.

“We’ve just got a new automated check-in desk, which, for Withnell, is a major leap forward,” she laughed.

‘FAIR PROCESS FOR ALL’

Professor Craig Harris, chief operating officer of the Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB, acknowledged that it had “taken some time” to reach a conclusion over the Withnell Health Centre contract.

However, he added:  “Our commitment has, at all times, been to ensure the process was carried out as quickly and fairly as possible to support the patients of the practice and the staff who work there – and I am confident this has been achieved.

“I would like to once again take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the procurement evaluation process, especially the patients of Withnell Health Centre who volunteered to be part of the procurement evaluation panel.

“I would also like to thank the Withnell patient steering group, which has represented the views of patients at Withnell Health Centre with admirable dedication throughout this time, as well as all those who took the time to give their views throughout an extensive public engagement period.

 “The ICB will now work with Dr Robinson to sign the final contract and, subject to any challenges during what is known as a standstill period, the new contract will be in effect from 1st October, 2024,” Prof Harris explained.

Dr. Robinson had been operating the surgery on an interim contract while the procurement process was re-run.