Chorley GP's fight to save practice from private company take over

In December 2021, a partnership between Dr Ann Robinson and Dr Mahtab Siddiqui ended, so Dr Robinson was awarded a temporary 12 month contract while the contract for Withnell Health Centre (WHC) on Railway Road was put out to tender.

A letter from Chorley and South Ribble CCG was sent out to the patients in February 2022, saying there was a “slight change” to the running of WHC but there should be “very little or no impact” as a result, and patients “should not be concerned about the future of the practice”.

An invitation to procure the premises and services at WHC was put out to tender by Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board - which replaced the region's CCGs - in July and closed in August, with the buying department now considering any bids received.

Staff at Withnell Health Centre (Image: Withnell Health Centre)

However, some staff and patients believe a consortium, thought to be a firm which runs just short of 40 practices across the north of England, is set to takeover the running of the surgery.

But a spokesperson from the company has said no decision on the future of WHC has been announced and it is in breach of procurement regulations to discuss the situation before a decision is made.

Since the tender closed, more than a fifth of the 5,500 patients at WHC have sent letters of objection as part of the "Save Withnell Health Centre" campaign against a takeover.

Speaking on the impact the change may have on the practice, Dr Robinson said: “My receptionists have worked here for over 20 years, they know when people ring up if they’re poorly or not.

"So that continuity and trust is just gone in a heartbeat. Around two-thirds of our staff will leave.

"All the doctors will leave, at least half of the nursing of the nursing staff will leave and the majority of the reception staff and the manager will leave.

“We are a small pocket of the NHS that’s working really well – so why are we disrupting that at the moment with all the ambulance and NHS strikes?”

Dr Robinson joined the practice in 2013 when Cllr Margaret France stepped down after 30 years as the GP.

She added: “In the summer, I would have been here 10 years, but I will leave, of course. I can’t work for them.”

WHC staff held a protest at the ICB head office at Chorley House in Leyland yesterday, Tuesday, where Dr Robinson highlighted the concerns about not being consulted with the contract transfer.

As part of the campaign, Cllr France (Labour, Chorley North East) - Chorley Council's lead member on shared services, joint working and community wellbeing - has collected 1,300 letters of objection in the last fortnight to appeal the "unbelievably cruel" process in a meeting with Sir Lindsay Hoyle which was held on Friday.

Independent Chorley MP, and Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay said: “I have received a large number of emails from residents in relation to the future of GPs services at Withnell Health Centre. 

"It is essential quality healthcare is provided by local GPs and I am concerned about the proposed change in the local GP provider following the contract award undertaken. 

"I have made contact with the Integrated Care Board to ask for this decision to be reviewed and for all concerns raised by local residents to be addressed before any further action is taken.”

Results from the GP Patient Survey 2022 revealed more than three quarters of WHC patients were able to see or speak to their preferred GP and 92 per cent of the patients were happy with the appointment offered.

Julia Baines, 62, has been registered with WHC since she was born and says she is “absolutely disgusted” by what is happening.

“I’m worried for Dr Robinson because she’s been fantastic running it all this time and through Covid," Julia said.

"I’ve got complex health issues so I’m also worried for myself because if we do get locums, I don’t think I can physically sit down with one and have to relay it all back to a doctor who I don’t know and probably won’t see again.

“There’s bonds and relationships we’ve built with the staff and if we do get locums, there’s never going to be that consistency.

"WHC is a pillar in the community so if it goes I am frightened to what will happen, I just can’t believe it.”

Her husband, Michael, added: “It’s as though this has been forced on us.

"They’ve decided and we have to argue against it. There’s been no consultation process and it’s as though we don’t matter.”

Nicola Phillipson, practice manager at the GP, spoke on how "heartbreaking" the process has been for staff and patients.

She said: "We are a work family and are very proud of the service we provide.

"It’s the heart of the community and devastating to know this is going to ripped out. 

"Reading all the comments we have received from patients not wanting this takeover to happen is overwhelming and most of them contain the most amazing feedback about Dr Robinson and our team. It’s a travesty."

Cllr France is looking into the tendering process as the ICB states "they are to involve the public" when commissioning services.

However, supporters of the campaign say the ICB never spoke to the public about their decision with Dr Robinson adding that “patients were not given a say.”

Cllr France said: "It seems inherently unfair to me, that the health centre can be passed over to an outside conglomerate without any public consultation whatsoever."

Maggie Oldham, deputy chief executive for NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB, said: “We have a duty to undertake an open procurement process for certain services which allows for all interested providers to be fairly considered.

"In the case of Withnell Health Centre, this process ended at midnight on January 16, 2023. As a result a suitable provider has been identified. 

“We recognise the concerns of staff and patients at Withnell Health Centre and would like to take this opportunity to reassure patients that they will continue to access services at Withnell Health Centre as they currently do. 

“The ICB remains committed to ensuring high quality, safe services for its residents and we will work closely with the new provider to ensure continuity of service for patients at Withnell.” 

The company said to be taking over the contract for WHC said it was "surprised to hear of the campaign as no decision has been announced on the future of Withnell Health Centre".

A spokesperson added: "It is explicitly in breach of the procurement regulations for anyone to comment on the situation until a decision has been made."