THE PEOPLE of East Cheshire have been promised that they will receive the highest quality of care if plans for the new £13m 'super surgery' go ahead in the next two years.
And with proposed increased availability of services and a reduction in appointment delays, the new Macclesfield Premises Project - which would be used by 60,000 patients - is expected to improve services by modernising local GP practices, some of which are now more than 100-years-old.
A special public consultation meeting was held at Macclesfield Town Hall on Monday evening (December 8) giving members of the public the opportunity to raise concerns about the proposals to re-locate six GP practices into one purpose built premises.
The panel of experts comprised of GPs from the town's practices and representatives, including the chief executive, of the Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust.
Patients have been promised that there will be minimal disruption to the current services that are provided and everyone will continue to see their own GP.
Dr Stewart Higgins, from Cumberland House surgery, on Jordangate, said that the four storey centre will be a huge benefit to everyone in the town. He added: "It will be an enormous facelift for the town. We want people to say that they are proud the centre is theirs, we want them to feel better before they have even walked through the door."
The proposed centre would be situated on Sunderland Street, Macclesfield, and would offer a more comprehensive range of services, meaning there would be less need for patients to be referred to hospital and hospitals would also be able to discharge patients more quickly, back into the care of their GP.
Dr Higgins added: "We are hoping to attract more money to provide extra facilities for the centre, we will not be taking money out of the existing budget.
"Two hundred members of staff will be needed in the centre, we do not anticipate redundancies but maybe changing roles which we all have to live with these days, we just have to move on.
"Information technology is crucial, at the present time we are suffering with all of the different facilities that the practices use. We have to be accountable, something which we can't do with six different systems."
The Sunderland Street premises was chosen from a possible 15 sites which have been individually assessed. The former TA barracks on Chester Road was said to have been the preferred site for the project but the derelict premises were taken over by a higher bidder. "When we were looking for a site we had to look for a central area," said Dr Higgins. "Sunderland Street is a way from Broken Cross, but if we had bought the TA site, the patients on the other side of town would have been unhappy. It really is a no win situation."
Several patients from Broken Cross Surgery have raised concerns about the move because of the travelling into town. However, a report has shown that 70 per cent of the people who live in the Broken Cross area are actually registered with other surgeries.
A travel plan has been developed as part of the proposal to emphasise the need to reduce the use of lone car drivers going to and from the site. Suggestions have been made for alternative methods of transport including a dial-a-ride service and the new bus exchange - just 300ft away - will also provide access for those travelling from surrounding villages and towns.
Peter Cubbon, chief executive of the PCT, said at the meeting: "GPs have been working together on these ideas for a number of years to provide the best possible care for the people of Macclesfield.
"We need to provide services in a more effective state-of-the-art approach and we will be able to look after more of the general public in a primary care setting."
New opportunities for GPs to provide extra services in the proposed centre under the new General Medical Services contract include: shared care drug and alcohol services; minor surgery; multiple sclerosis care; specialist services for depression and support to homeless people. Other developments could also include new 'extra care' housing developments for older people, proposed new children's centres and other 'satellite' health services.
- Each practice will be holding an open day on Tuesday, January 13, between 9am-noon, and 1pm-4pm, to discuss any questions or concerns.
Further public meetings will be held tomorrow evening (Thursday) from 6.30pm-8pm at Macclesfield Library, and Monday, January 12, from 6.30pm-8pm at Macclesfield Town Hall.
