This week, the local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) held a board meeting to discuss Primary Care in Shoebury amongst other things including the proposal to send Blood Testing over 80 miles away in Bedford.
The CCG board announced that the proposal to build a new health centre on Gunners Park has been shelved for now which I'm sure will please many residents as when this option was first proposed some three years ago now had very little public support. I had my own objections to this particular scheme and even made a commitment never to support the proposal during my 2010 election campaign.
Due to concerns with the deterioration of Shoebury House the board also made the decision to stop providing services there with the current services undertaken moved to a number of different locations including the Thorpedene complex.
Some may have seen the article in yesterday's Echo confirming the closure of Shoebury House along with a picture of the Library at Thorpedene possibly giving the impression that Thorpedene Library was about to close as well. I will give the benefit of the doubt as the Echo may have intended to photograph the clinic,located in the same complex, to highlight that some services are about to be moved into Thorpedene.
Never the less, with how quickly the rumour mill can start, it is worth reassuring that there are no plans in the current budget to close any Libraries in the town. Whilst the majority of health provision does not fall under the council's responsibility, I will constantly challenge to ensure that the residents that my fellow ward colleagues and I represent have access to the best possible local healthcare provision.
No details have been given as to what the CCG will do with Shoebury House and is something that I will remain vigilant on. Details of the relocation of services from Shoebury House can be found in the briefing paper below which I was sent a copy of.
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