Handforth set to lose some outpatient services

by Lisa Reeves

Monday 26^th June 2017

Mon 26^th Jun 2017

A number of outpatient clinics are being moved from Handforth Health Centre which would affect just over 1000 local residents.

Whilst a number of services are proposed to remain on the Handforth Health Centre site, including the adjacent GP Practice, many of the clinics operated by NHS East Cheshire Trust will be relocated to alternative sites when their lease expires in October 2017.

Reporting at the Adult Social Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee earlier this month, Steve Redfern (Deputy Director of Operations at East Cheshire NHS Trust) and Neil Evans (Commissioning Director at Eastern Cheshire CCG) confirmed that the following services would be relocated:

Orthopaedics (to Macclesfield);
Rheumatology (to Knutsford);
Gynaecology (to Macclesfield);
Urology (to Macclesfield);
Respiratory Medicine (to Knutsford);
General Surgery (To be confirmed);
Breast Surgery (to Macclesfield);
Paediatrics (to Oakenclough Children's Centre, Colshaw Farm);
Audiology (to Macclesfield);
Plastic Surgery (to Congleton);
Midwifery (to Oakenclough Children's Centre, Colshaw Farm);
Community Dental (to Weston Dental Clinic, Macclesfield).

In the 12 month period from February 2016 to February 2017, 2713 patients attended these clinics, 1095 of which lived in the SK9 area.

405 of these patients were registered with a Handforth Health Centre GP Practice so are assumed to live in Handforth; a further 586 from Wilmslow and 94 from Alderley Edge. (These numbers do not include Community Dental Services, which are commissioned by NHS England.)

East Cheshire NHS Trust intends to relocate these services to other sites available to their organisation giving patients the choice of travelling to Wilmslow, Colshaw Farm, Wythenshawe, Macclesfield, Cheadle, Stockport or Poynton.

The following services will continue to be provided by East Cheshire Trust from Handforth Health Centre, subject to final negotiations with partners: Community Nursing Services; Epilepsy Clinic; Physiotherapy; Continence; Cardio Respiratory Diagnostics; Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy; Parkinson's Clinic; Heart failure Clinic; Weight Management; Anti-coagulant Clinic and GP Out-of-Hours.

Tags:: East Cheshire NHS Trust, Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group, Handforth Health Centre

Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

DELETED ACCOUNT

Monday 26^th June 2017 at 11:52 am

So what has happened to the XRay department there? What has happened to the Gastro- Enterology clinic there or were these stopped in advance of any decision being made.

Deleted Account

Monday 26^th June 2017 at 8:59 pm

Indeed Jackie.

Hmm , it would be rather interesting to see the Business Case for the changes?

I wonder what value was put on for example:

(a) patient convenience particularly for an ever aging population

(b) the cost of travel to other sites and the alarming car park costs we are forced to pay

Lynne Prescott

Wednesday 28^th June 2017 at 6:27 pm

Hmm, could these local outpatient services be a part of the reason Handforth is classified as a key service centre rather than local service centre in the Local plan?... which is why we are getting an extra 2200 houses and probably nearly 10,000 extra population? Who will now, as with existing Handforth residents, have to travel up to 15 miles away to get services that used to be local.
Left hand really does not know what right hand is doing. I do not know why I continue to be surprised at the ineptitude of public services planning in this area - when will i learn? Probably sooner than they will!

Carol Chadwick

Wednesday 28^th June 2017 at 6:29 pm

The X-ray department closed some time ago as the machine broke down and would need replacing at huge cost. In fairness it would not be a good use of resources to replace that despite the fact it was a very useful service.

Wendy Falk

Wednesday 28^th June 2017 at 7:29 pm

Do council departments not speak to each other?!? More home building approvals, more residents... LESS services! They'll be closing schools next - probably when the Royal London 'green space' is developed!

I despair, I really do... What is Wilmslow/Handforth/Alderley going to be like for our children (AND US when we're old, finding it difficult to get about)?

:-(