Thatcham Medical Practice will not be able to cope if more homes are built
GP raises concerns over shortage of GPs and overstretched surgeries
A THATCHAM doctor has said that medical provision in the town will suffer if more housing is built.
Dr Richard Rudgley said that proposals for 225 homes at Henwick Park, which has provision for a doctors surgery, would not help the community.
Croudacre Strategic plans would see the homes built on land to the north of Bowling Green Road and west of Cold Ash Hill.
The plans are the developer’s second stab at building the homes after its plans for 265 homes were turned down by West Berkshire Council last year.
Croudacre has launched an appeal seeking to overturn the council’s decision, with a hearing to be held in November.
Dr Rudgley, senior partner at Thatcham Medical Practice, and the patient participation group have objected to Henwick Park and its impact on medical provision and patient care in Thatcham.
If Henwick Park is given the green light new residents would be added to Thatcham Medical Practice register of around 18,600 patients.
And Dr Rudgley said that the problem would be exacerbated by a GP recruitment crisis affecting the practice and others across the nation.
The practice has operated for more than a year with GP numbers down and, despite national adverts, has been unable to replace all the doctors.
And as a direct consequence, Dr Rudgely said that GPs at the practice had an average list size of 2,400 patients – significantly higher than the recommended list size of 1,800 – which he said had “put incredible pressure on the doctors and ancillary staff”.
Objecting to Henwick Park, he said: “I am aware that the developer is proposing to build a new GP practice building.
“It is likely to remain empty as GPs are less inclined to take on the extra risk of starting up a new practice and it will not help the community in any way.”
The appeal for Henwick Park will be heard at the same time as an appeal for 495 homes proposed at Siege Cross Farm.
When asked about the impact of additional housing on Thatcham’s healthcare, a spokeswoman for Berkshire West Clinical Commissioning Groups, Sarah Rayner-Osbon, said: “New housing developments are one of the factors that the local authority considers when analysing population growth, but a new housing development will not automatically mean a new practice is built.
“As part of planning approval, the local authority may make it conditional that the residential developer makes a contribution to local amenities; however this is not usually at a level to build, fit out and equip a surgery and does not include an ongoing commitment to fund the ongoing costs of staffing and providing services for patients, something the CCG is looking to address.”
West Berkshire Council said that the CCG would either comment on an existing planning application or submit an application themselves should the group feel the need for increased surgery provision.
