Closing Dudley walk-in centre would be 'major mistake' according to MP Andy Burnham
Closing a walk-in health centre could be a 'major mistake' unless GPs are guaranteed to pick up the slack, the shadow health secretary has said during a visit to Dudley.
Andy Burnham visited under-threat Holly Hall Clinic, which health bosses are proposing to shut. The Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group believes the £1.4 million contract with health care firm Primecare could be better used by giving people longer and later access to their own GPs.
Currently around 50,000 people a year use the clinic, which is in Stourbridge Road. The clinic sees people without an appointment between 8am and 8pm in the week and up to 10pm at weekends.
Mr Burnham, the former health secretary in the last Labour government, visited the clinic alongside Dudley North MP Ian Austin and Natasha Millward, the party's candidate for Dudley South.
As well as urging the CCG to 'tread carefully' he condemned the re-organisation of the NHS which he said had led to cuts in investment in nursing.
His comments came as Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital is about to embark on a costly recruitment drive to find nurses overseas because it says there are not enough nurses in the UK to fill the positions.
The £3.6 million recruitment drive aims to take on 170 new staff over the next year from places such as India, China and the Phillippines.
More than 1,000 people have so far responded to a consultation on the plans for Holly Hall Clinic.
Mr Burnham said: "It's obvious how valued this centre is because it's seeing 50,000 people a year.
"The concern is that there may be a loss of access to care.
"We're seeing walk-in centres close all over the country. That's a major mistake because accident and emergency departments are already under extra pressure.
"My message is that they must tread very carefully if they are going to tinker with an established service.
"I'm all in favour of extended opening hours for GP surgeries.
"But people will want guarantees that their surgery will be one of those that is open for longer. It can't be left vague.
"We hear from people who are being told to ring for an appointment at 9am and then can't get through."
On the recruitment of foreign nurses, he added: "How on Earth have we got here?
"Training has been in reverse for the past three years. And now we're in a situation where hospitals are having to recruit from abroad. People from overseas have always contributed to the NHS. But there are local young people who would have welcomed the chance to train. But this is what happens when you spend £3 billion on a re-organisation of the NHS."
