A GP practice in North Belfast is to permanently close its branch to move its services to a sister site in the West of the city.
Willow Medical Practice is shutting its surgery at the Ashton Centre in New Lodge and relocating services to its Andersonstown Road branch four miles away.
As of April 2020 there were 1,316 patients with the Ashton branch, with a total of 3,070 patients covering both sites.
Patients registered to the Ashton Centre will now have to travel to West Belfast to visit their GP or otherwise try to join another surgery.
The practice has remained closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic with all available existing services for the Ashton Centre surgery relocated to the Andersonstown Road branch. The official closure has been dated as August 31.
In a letter, Willow Medical Practice stated: “Our application to relocate all medical services to the Andersonstown Road site has been approved, which unfortunately means the permanent closure of the site at Ashton Centre in North Belfast.
“We know that this change may be unsettling for you. Closure of the Ashton Centre site does not affect your ability to remain a patient of Willow Medical Practice. It is the site, not the service which is closing.
“We value your commitment to us as a practice and that we will continue to provide the same level of service and care to you in return.
“As a small team of staff we have found over the last few years that providing the full range of services from both the Ashton Centre and our Andersonstown Road surgery became increasingly challenging. This is why we made a carefully considered decision to request the permanent relocation of our Ashton Centre services to our Andersonstown Road branch.
“Patients who belong to the Willow Surgery have access to many additional services because we are part of the West Belfast Federation group of GP practices. This includes a physiotherapist and mental health professional, both working at our Andersonstown Road branch and our social workers will follow in the coming months. The access to these services will be available to all Willow Medical Practice patients and will further enhance the care we provide.
“We hope you see the long-term benefits of remaining a patient of Willow Medical Practice but understand that you may feel the need to register with a practice closer to home and we will support you in this transition if needed. From all the team at Willow Medical Practice, we hope that we can count on your understanding and support.”
SDLP councillor Paul McCusker said he was very 'concerned' at the GP closure and subsequent move to West Belfast.
“I am very concerned about this move. North Belfast has a high level of chronic illnesses, mental health, addictions,” he said.
“Moving the service over to Andersonstown is a barrier to people in the New Lodge who need access to a GP.
“It will cause a lot of upset, anger and disruption to around 1,300 patients who I understand will be affected by this move.
“There will be the financial impact of paying for public transport across the city for those patients who do not drive.”
North Belfast Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín added: “I have learnt that the Willow GP practice at the Ashton Centre site is to close which places additional pressure on other local GP practices which are already stretched almost to capacity.
“The closure means that patients will either have to travel to access services or find another local GP practice.”
A statement from Health and Social Care Board said: "In early 2020 Willow Medical Practice applied formally to close its branch surgery at the Ashton Centre and relocate all its medical services to its Andersonstown site as the practice felt it was no longer able to provide the full range of GP services across both locations.
"The small team had limited scope at Ashton to provide additional services such as physiotherapy, mental health and social care support, which are already provided at the Andersonstown Road site.
"There was also limited opportunity for renovation of the facilities to ensure they could meet relevant disability criteria. The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way GP services are delivered to meet social distancing regulations and to prevent the spread of infection and as a result of this the branch surgery was closed temporarily in March 2020.
"In order for the HSCB to make an informed decision on whether the branch should be closed permanently, a process was undertaken which included a survey of patients as a means of establishing the possible impact on the closure of the branch. Based on all its findings, the Board agreed for Willow to close its branch at the Ashton centre from 31 August 2021 in the interest of treatment quality and patient safety.
"Patients who used the Ashton Centre branch surgery should be reassured that they still have the ability to remain a patient at Willow Medical Practice. However, some patients may prefer to register with a GP practice closer to their home that is more convenient for them. If they wish to do this they will need to contact the practice in question and ask to register.
"The seven closest GP practices are as follows: Clifton Street Surgery, Northgate Family Practice, Duncairn Gardens Surgery, O’Kane Practice, Gardiner Family Practice, Crumlin Road Family Practice and The Group Surgery. The Board understands that the change to GP services can be difficult for patients. However, we want to reassure patients at Willow Medical Practice there continues to be good access to GP services in the area."
