Residents fear closure of Norfolk GP surgery

Valerie Savory said news of the proposed closure was "devastating"

A plan to close a doctors' surgery has been greeted with dismay by patients.

Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) said Toftwood Medical Centre, near Dereham, did provide good care but the building was too small for the population it served and it needed upgrading.

A consultation into its future was under way, but the ICB said the best thing to do would be to transfer patients to neighbouring Orchard Surgery and Theatre Royal Surgery on 1 April and close the centre.

Residents told the BBC they were worried the nearby practices would be overwhelmed with the arrival of 4,000 new patients. The ICB said it was "important we look to the future".

The consultation, which has also considered extending the current building or building a new surgery in Toftwood, runs until 21 November.

People can take part online or by filling in a form from the surgery.

Resident Valerie Savory said the staff at the medical centre were "more like family".

"How are they going to fit us all in, if that comes to it, at the other two doctors? I don't know," she said.

"You can go to a big place and get all these up-to-date things, but they can't better what we have here."

Sue and Tony Bojko were against plans to close their nearby surgery

Sue and Tony Bojko live around the corner from the Toftwood GP.

Mrs Bojko said the other surgeries in Dereham were not "up to the same standard" and the Toftwood centre was "a very, very, very good surgery".

Her husband was worried about how easy it would be to get to the alternative GPs about a mile-and-a-half away.

"To get into Dereham is difficult. The surgeries there are just not so accommodating as they are here."

Tracey Bleakley, chief executive of NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB, said it was "carefully considering the future of general practice services" at Toftwood Medical Centre, with the current contract expiring in March.

"We know that the practice provides good care to its patients, however it is important we look to the future and how we can best provide general practice services to the community," she said.

"We know that changing how and where services are provided can have a real impact on people, so we take these decisions seriously.

"This is why it is vital we hear from the local community about the proposal and what impact it would have before we make any decisions."