Update on Norton Place and Southend Coastal Surgeries

After hearing from Southend residents and patients of Southend Coastal Surgeries about the closure of Norton Place, and the subsequent notification that the site would reopen on 5

October, Healthwatch Southend contacted one of the partners at the network of GP practices.

We asked them to respond to some of the questions that patients had raised:

• Will Norton Place be used as it was before, to provide additional healthcare services from the GP practices?

• Will there be a blood testing service at the site?

• Will there be increased capacity, including additional staff, or will this be the same capacity for healthcare with shared resources?

  
  

The response

Southend Coastal Surgeries will be taking on the lease ofthe building from 1 October, with the intention of expanding and enhancing theservices we are able to provide for our patients.

This forms part of our wider strategy to increase clinicalcapacity across our practices. We have already strengthened our workforcethrough the recruitment of an additional GP, Advanced Clinical Practitioner(ACP), and Clinical Pharmacist, helping us to improve patient access anddeliver more care within primary care settings.

As part of our plans for the site, we will be providing aphlebotomy (blood testing) service for patients registered with SouthendCoastal Surgeries. We have also offered to extend access to this service toother local practices should they wish to utilise the facility for theirpatients.

The additional premises will therefore increase our overallcapacity rather than simply relocating existing services. While some resourcesmay be shared where this benefits patients and improves efficiency, our primaryfocus is on creating additional clinical space and developing services thatsupport the growing needs of our patient population.

As our plans progress, we will continue to communicate withpatients and stakeholders regarding the services that will be available fromthe site.

Healthwatch Southend

Healthwatch Southend will continue to listen to and raise the voices of the people of Southend on key health and social issues.

We will continue to share clear and informative updates as we receive them.