In response to “Surgery expansion plan to be revived” (May 25) I would like to ask the residents of Pinchbeck if they believe that the proposed extension will provide the medical amenities needed in a village of already over 5,000 residents at the current site, in the no through road of Church Walk – with limited access, or do we deserve a lot better facilities in a more accessible area?
I believe that the village requires a long-term view of medical services in light of the increase in developments currently in construction and those in the Big Plan of around 4.000 houses in the pipeline. Infrastructure should be in place before these developments are finished and should not be an afterthought.
Given the expected increase in the population of the village I contest that even if the proposed extension of the surgery were to go ahead it would very soon prove to be inadequate for the number of residents involved and alternative arrangements would need to be identified and a replacement site found to accommodate such an increase, therefore it must be a better idea to take this opportunity to re-site this facility to a position within the village that will give it longevity and accessibility to cope with the demands that will be put on it rather than wasting NHS funds on a site that cannot provide this.
Surely a much better idea for the placement of a village medical centre would be the site of The Bell public house on Church Street, which has fallen into disrepair or the site of the old Hargraves abattoir in Knight Street (at the foot of The Approach) – both could provide ample scope for a facility large enough to cope with the medical demands of a growing community along with enough parking for staff and patients and with a greater degree of accessibility for vehicle users, cyclists and pedestrians alike. Could this not be achieved by the residents pulling together and asking the council for a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) especially for The Bell as the building is classed as a property of interest to the village?
I would like to point out that Dr Wheatley has at no time, either prior to the application being made or since being refused, attempted to contact any of the residents directly with regard to our fears relating to the expansion of the village surgery doubling their business, in a bid to mitigate concerns.
If, as Dr Wheatley says, “Pinchbeck is a distinct community, which is quite sizeable and there is no health care in the village itself”, why is their surgery in the village currently not used for doctors’ appointments, and has not been regularly used for these for almost a decade? Also why then does Dr Wheatley feel that this extension is required at this point in time or “will be beneficial not just for Pinchbeck residents who won’t have to travel… but will also make our Spalding surgery less congested” when, even in its current state, it is woefully underutilised for doctors’ appointments/consultations? When ringing for an appointment you are not offered the option of being seen by a doctor at the Church Walk surgery even if you are a resident of the village.
This facility is being used solely for clinic-based services such as physiotherapy and ultrasound scans (and not even on a daily basis!) for the Munro patient base of around 20,000, which includes a wider area than the village, so is not being used for the benefit of the residents of Pinchbeck.
Previously, when properly used as a village surgery, with doctors in attendance daily, parking on the small car park owned by my business, The Regency Salon, caused heavy congestion and even resulted in minor bumps as vehicles tried to manoeuvre in the limited space.
Where is Dr Wheatley proposing that his customers park when visiting this surgery when he has suggested that he would be able to restrict its use to staff and the disabled only – how would this be implemented and what gives him the right to decide how my property is to be used, especially as the Munro Medical Centre, (or the previous High Street, Spalding practice) has never contributed towards the upkeep of the area in question?
The surgery has no element of control over the car park and surely cannot take over property that doesn’t belong to them – effectively they are trying to push me off my own land, which has been used as a part of the salon business since before the surgery was built, following the sale of the plot that the surgery stands on by the original owner of the salon.
The village itself has no formal car park facilities and the area proposed is too small for their needs and will therefore spill into Church Walk and the surrounding areas which are already congested.
Kirstie Taylor
The Regency Salon
Church Walk
Pinchbeck
