Banbury councillor writes to MP Victoria Prentis for support to keep a local doctor's surgery from closing

Mark Cherry received notification of the proposed closure of the Bradley Arcade surgery in the Bretch Hill area of town last week, and he contacted the Banbury Guardian with concerns about the closure.

Cllr Cherry represents Banbury Ruscote as an Oxfordshire county councillor, Cherwell district councillor and Banbury town councillor.

He hopes to have a 'full consultation' on the issue in an effort to avoid the surgery's closure.

He received the following text message this week notifying him of the proposed closure.

The text message said: "Due to significant IT and staffing issues and with the agreement of Oxon CCG (Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group) we will be closing Bradley Arcade Branch surgery from autumn 2020.

"We understand this may cause concern for some patients but Windrush Surgery's vision is to implement new ways of working to provide a more efficient streamlined service."

"If you wish to comment please write to the surgery. Please do not telephone the surgery."

Cllr Cherry wrote the following letter to Mrs Prentis:

"I trust you and your family are well at this time given the current circumstances with Covid-19 virus pandemic?

"I draw your attention to the proposed closure in autumn 2020 of the Bradley arcade surgery, Prescott Avenue part of the Bradley arcade complex on Bretch Hill estate that has been reported in a resent Banbury Guardian press release.

"To say we as local labour Ruscote councillors are disappointed is a understatement.

"I have written to the Oxfordshire county council joint health and scrutiny committee officers and chairman councillor Arash Fatemian to ask the whole process with Windrush Surgery and CCG be scrutinised and public consultation, which in my view has not taken place with a Covid-19 virus pandemic outbreak.

"Officers inform me that they are still awaiting a public statement on my original enquiry from the CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group).

"My predecessor the late labour councillor George Parish for Banbury Ruscote had a history of fighting for the Horton General Hospital NHS public services like maternity and working with opposition North Oxfordshire conservative councillors and former Banbury parliamentary MP Tony Baldry.

"So I feel duty bound to leave no political stone unturned on this ongoing issue.

"I hope you will back all labour Ruscote ward councillors opposition to the proposed closures of Bradley arcade surgery, and hopefully work together with all parties including, Oxfordshire county council, HOSC, CCG, and Cherwell district council, who owns Bradley Arcade shops to have a working general practitioner surgery in Banbury Ruscote ongoing in future, which is after all a classified ward of deprivation.

"I fully appreciate that general practitioner has had to change and be reconfigured in light of new technology, and in layman’s terms not enough general practitioners and as a consequence merge with general practitioners like Horse Fair Surgery."