Bitterne Walk-in Centre 'to be closed'

More than 800 people signed a petition to keep the Bitterne Walk-in Centre open

A consultation has been launched that could decide the fate of an NHS health centre in Hampshire.

Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) wants to close the Bitterne Walk-in Centre, believing it is too costly and duplicates its other services.

It agreed to the consultation after 800 residents signed a petition asking it not to close "a vital local service".

The consultation will run until 4 September.

A CCG spokesman said: "Our proposal is to close the Bitterne walk-in service and to redistribute the current funding to community nursing and community-based care.

"There will be no compulsory redundancies and Solent NHS Trust will look to redeploy staff within Solent services under normal HR procedures.

"This proposal is about changing the way we spend money."

Southampton Itchen MP Royston Smith said: "My central concern with the proposal is that people on the east of the city will be left poorly served if this facility were to be removed.

"Although we do not all need to use the centre regularly, we are all reassured to know it is available when we most need it."