Sudden surgery closure affects thousands in Luton

More than 700 people have signed a petition to stop Wenlock Surgery from closing down

Thousands of patients have been left shocked after learning their surgery was closing down at short notice.

Patients of Wenlock Street Surgery in High Town, Luton were told on 19 July that it would be closing on Friday.

Dr Isam Saleh, the only GP at the practice, resigned following a Care Quality Commission inspection, which has yet to be published.

The NHS said it is working to help the 3,600 patients find a new local surgery.

Lorraine Tobin says the whole community is "devastated."

Lorraine Tobin has used the surgery for 56 years and said she was "absolutely devastated, as is the whole community."

She told the BBC: "It is not about Dr Saleh retiring, it's about retaining the surgery for all the people in the area."

"It is part of the fabric of High Town. It's always been here. It's taken the safety net away from all the residents."

She said her mother, who lives across the road, has moved to a practice in Grove Road, while she has been relocated to the Liverpool Road surgery.

"What sense does that make? If none of us are about how are we supposed to get my mum to her doctor?" she added.

Philip Marsh says the surgery's closure is 'heartbreaking' after being a patient for 35 years.

Philip Marsh has been a patient there for 35 years and said he was feeling "really quite emotional" about the situation.

"Dr Saleh has been a surgeon, a doctor, a friend. He's been there when I've needed him and I'm going to miss him," he said.

He said that while it was "expected" that Dr Saleh would retire, he was upset about "the way this has been done, with a week's notice" and "a very abrupt letter" from the Milton Keynes, Bedford and Luton Integrated Care Board (ICB).

The councillors for High Town, Umme Ali and James Taylor, said "the decision to close the surgery was not the ICB's or the council's."

In a joint statement, they said that "Dr Saleh is the sole GP at Wenlock Street Surgery and he chose to resign his contract following a CQC inspection".

The inspection took place in June but the report has not yet been published.

Councillors James Taylor and Umme Ali say many local residents have contacted them about the surgery's closure

Phil Turner, who chairs Healthwatch Luton, agrees "there was confusion as to why the surgery was going to close" and said "the information that went out initially, which was probably not correct, created unrest in those patients unnecessarily".

He said "there was a plan in place to deal with everything" and that other surgeries in Luton "were consulted beforehand" before patients were transferred.

However, Mr Turner also told the BBC "there is no spare capacity in GP surgeries around Luton, neither is there spare capacity anywhere in the UK."

He said "there is a duty of care to provide primary care access to the public," so other GPs will "have to cope."

Chair of Healthwatch Luton Phil Turner says that the initial information created unrest among patients

Nicky Poulain, chief primary care officer at the care board, said: "The ICB has been working with Dr Saleh and an additional team of clinical and managerial support staff to ensure that all patients registered with the practice are allocated a new surgery."

He said all registered patients received a text message and letter informing them of their new practice and their medical records would automatically be shared.

The High Town councillors urged people to contact them or the care board with any worries or questions, recognising that people will be concerned "about repeat prescriptions, test results that may have been due, or any appointments beyond 28 July".

Mr Taylor said: "When local services are taken away, everyone is going to be concerned, because services should be there in the community, they should be where the people are."

Wenlock Street Surgery in the High Town area of Luton was home to 3,600 patients