PATIENTS from Hatherleigh and Shebbear surgeries are being asked to travel by minibus to Holsworthy surgery for medical appointments until further notice, writes Sarah Pitt.

NHS England said Ruby Country Medical Group’s (RCMG)surgeries and clinics in the villages’ community halls were not working out.

Patients have been using the ad hoc arrangements after an eleventh hour hiccup in Holsworthy-based RCMG receiving the keys to the Holsworthy and Shebbear surgeries.

‘Unfortunately, the limitations of the community halls and further issues arising from the previous contract mean we’ve had to make immediate changes to ensure that patients continue to get safe care,’ said Amanda Fisk, director of assurance and delivery for NHS England in the South West.

‘Although the halls can’t be used, we’re laying on a minibus so patients can get to Holsworthy and are looking at how best to provide prescription medicines. We’ll be writing to all patients over coming days to explain how we aim to bring services back into the community.

‘Please also keep an eye on the practice website for further information, as that will be updated constantly.’

Cllrs James McInnes and Patrick Kimber, West Devon members for the Hatherleigh ward, put out a joint statement saying the current situation was ‘unacceptable’.

It said: ‘It is with considerable frustration and disbelief we are told that patients of Hatherleigh Surgery are now having to travel to Holsworthy to access their GP services. This is unacceptable and suitable accommodation must be found in Hatherleigh as soon as possible.

‘We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Ruby Country Medical Group who are working hard to provide continued medical care despite the loss of the building at Hatherleigh Medical Centre. We don’t know the detail of what has gone on behind the scenes but it is essential that NHS England and the Clinical Commissioning Group get GP facilities back in Hatherleigh as soon as possible.’

Central Devon MP Mel Stride said: ‘I fully appreciate how hard doctors and staff are working at Holsworthy Medical Centre to accommodate the extra patients and that a free minibus service is being provided but the situation is clearly unsatisfactory for patients and we need permanent premises secured as soon as possible. I have written to NHS England asking what steps are being taken in the coming days to resolve the situation.’

Patients in Hatherleigh and Shebbear have not been able to use the surgeries in their villages since an eleventh-hour hiccup in the handover of the practice from retiring GP Dr Francis Fernandez to the Ruby Country Medical Group (RCMG).

The group, which already runs Holsworthy Medical Centre, is looking into the possibility of laying on a mobile surgery for Hatherleigh and Shebbear until more permanent premises for surgeries can be found.

Ruby Country Medical Group runs the surgeries in Holsworthy and Stratton, over the border in Cornwall. The group was supposed to get the keys to Hatherleigh Medical Centre and Beech House Surgery in Shebbear when it took over running them in early July.

However, they were withheld after the practice failed to come to an agreement with the previous incumbent, retiring GP Dr Francis Fernandez.

NHS England said in a briefing note that services were having to be run from Hatherleigh Community Centre and Shebbear Village Hall ‘because the Ruby County Medical Group was unable to gain support from Dr Fernandez for continued use of the existing services’.

It added that IT problems ‘had also made it difficult to sustain a presence’ in the community halls. There is also no dispensary, which means patients are having to travel to pharmacies in Okehampton or Holsworthy to get their medications.

The practice is looking into the possibility of providing a mobile surgery while more permanent premises are found for the two surgeries.

Hatherleigh Medical Centre was deemed to be ‘inadequate’ overall in a Care Quality Commission report in April. The report said that while the services provided by the surgery were caring, effective and responsive to people’s needs, they were not ‘well-led’.