'Unsafe' GP practice shut down over building fears

Crosby Village Surgey was deemed "not fit for purpose"

A GP practice deemed "unsafe" and "no longer fit for purpose" has been permanently closed down by NHS bosses.

Services were terminated at Crosby Village Surgery by the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) after a period of temporary closure and following several reviews.

Councillors at Bootle Town Hall were told the providers running the surgery, Crosby Village Surgery Ltd, had proposed to close it due to the building's condition.

Patients will continue to be seen at two other surgeries, Crossways Practice and Thornton Practice.

'Limited investment'

Tracy Jeffes, interim place director at the ICB, told councillors the decision to close the surgery was "reasonable" due to the state of the building.

Councillor David Roscoe suggested the decision was removing a facility from a "densely populated area" and questioned whether the right infractructure was in place to meet demand.

He asked: "Is there any updates about getting some sort of health facility in that area, particularly located around Crosby village?"

Ms Jeffes responded: "At present, there isn't a particular scheme [planned] in Crosby. As we discussed previously, there has been a limited amount of investment or capital investment available.

"I have to be honest, that has been a challenge – to improve the quality of the estate – but we've been trying our best to to bring investment in, to bring capital in where we can, and we'll continue to refresh our estate plans."