Council says 'no' to GP plans to boycott new Sheppey Healthy Living Centre surgery
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
A furious Swale Borough Council has hit out at Minster Medical Group’s plans to boycott a new purpose-made surgery being built for it in Sheerness.
The council is creating a new GP hub at the Sheppey Healthy Living Centre as part of its £20 million government-funded Sheerness Revival project.
But the Minster GPs say they don’t want to return and want to stay at Sheppey Community Hospital in Minster.
They say looking after their patients across two sites has become “increasingly challenging” because of “workforce constraints”, travel and transport limitations and low patient numbers at the Sheerness centre.
They want to concentrate care at Minster and have been running a 12-week public consultation which closes this Wednesday (June 10).
The Sheppey Healthy Living Centre serves a registered population of 14,283 patients, making it the largest GP practice on the Island.
Council leader Tim Gibson (Lab, Roman) said last night: “I have reiterated the sizeable health and community benefits of returning to their new, modern, accessible and state-of-the-art facility being built as part of our Sheerness Revival project.
“The surgery was a key part of our bid to the government for funding and has been involved throughout the project.
"This included providing valuable input into the specifications for the new purpose-built practice.
“Furthermore, we have improved accessibility by moving the surgery to the ground floor, increasing its size allowing for an additional consultation room and space for enhanced provision such as minor surgeries, improved ventilation and a separate entrance.”
He added: “The Sheerness site benefits from multiple regular bus services and a direct rail connection making it accessible for patients across the Isle of Sheppey and beyond.”
In a letter of support for the project, the surgery originally wrote that the rebuild would be “be a transformational opportunity for our practice and patients, with innumerable positive health and equality outcomes.”
Cllr Gibson said: “We firmly believe that this is still the case.
“Health services in Sheerness and across Sheppey are a huge concern for Islanders. We are committed to continuing to work with the integrated care board to ensure residents in Sheerness can continue accessing high quality healthcare.”
He was joined by Cllr Hannah Perkin (Lib Dem, Abbey) who chairs the council’s housing, health and communities committee.
She said: “We have put a lot of time, effort and funding into the important health element of our Sheerness Revival project to improve access to essential health services and address entrenched inequalities experienced on the Isle of Sheppey.
“Residents face significant barriers in accessing care, with Swale having one of the highest patient-to-GP ratios in the country, making the retention of this accessible infrastructure even more critical.
“Life expectancy in Swale remains below the regional and national averages, reflecting long-standing health inequalities. The GP practice has a significant proportion of patients that have elevated need.”
The council says removing GPs from the centre would “disproportionately impact the most vulnerable residents within Swale.”
Swale already has one of the worst patient-to-GP ratios in the country, approximately 3,300 patients for every doctor.
Sheerness residents can expect to die earlier than others with a life expectancy as low as 77.4 for men and 81.5 for women, compared to a national average of 83 years.
The Sheerness centre is due to reopen later this year.
Minster Medical Centre says it needs to close its Sheerness site and focus its efforts on Minster.
It says the hospital site in Plover Road has been “operating successfully” while the healthy living centre has been shut for the past 15 months for building work.
In a letter to patients, it stressed: “During the period SHLC has been closed, we have seen that patients can access care efficiently at Minster.
“The site offers several benefits that improve patient experience, including better access to appointments with extended hours giving patients more choice and flexibility.”
It says there is more coordinated care with all staff and services in one place, improving communication and being more efficient.
It adds: “Minster Medical Centre is on a hospital site with free parking and a bus stop directly outside, making it easier to attend appointments compared to SHLC, where traffic, limited parking and public transport accessibility made attending more difficult.”
It insists that Minster is a “modern, fully accessible environment with convenient facilities, reduces travel stress and supports safe, high-quality care.”
It has offered patients two one-to-one sessions on May 27 and June 3 to discuss the proposals.
Patients have until 10 June to respond.
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