The Wixams Surgery Action Group has presented the Bedfordshire, Luton & Milton Keynes (BLMK) Integrated Care Board (ICB) with a petition demanding they provide residents with a doctor’s surgery in their town.
Wixams is a new Bedfordshire town which has been under development since the ‘Masterplan’ was approved in 1999.
With an expected population exceeding 15,000 people, there had been plans to include a primary healthcare provision from the outset.
However, after the 2007 financial crisis, a change in policy at the Department for Health meant there was a funding shortfall for the building of the facility.
In January 2023 the BLMK ICB also announced they would no longer be funding the surgery in Wixams, leaving residents concerned that their town may never have the much needed amenities they had been promised when buying their homes since 2009.
There was a strong public outcry on social media at the announcement by the ICB, so the Wixams Surgery Action Group was formed and residents were invited to join and help push for the facility to be built.
The group met regularly and in August they published a petition demanding that the BLMK ICB, Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council, L&Q Estates (the master developers for Wixams), Barratt Homes and other house developers collaborate and provide the funding to secure the surgery for their town.
A survey carried out in Wixams after the ICB announcement identified that the lack of local healthcare facilities was putting strain on services in other communities.
Around 59% of residents in Wixams are registered with surgeries in Ampthill, 15% in Bedford and 7% in Wootton. NHS England data provided by the BBC shows that across the BLMK NHS area there were 2,799 patients for each fully qualified GP, the fifth-highest ratio in England.
“A Wixams surgery would relieve the pressure on nearby surgeries and the lack of a local surgery can even cost lives.” said the Chair of the action group, Barbara Matthews, “In our healthcare survey a resident shared that delays in getting doctor’s appointments led to a cancer diagnosis being made too late, which meant the cancer was untreatable, and resulted in the sad death of her husband. This is a harsh reality of why we need a surgery in our town.”
A surgery built within Wixams would also offer crucial support for residents who don’t drive and rely on public transport.
“We’ve heard about people who end up travelling for up to six hours for an appointment in Ampthill.” said Leon Staszak, Chair of the Wixams Residents Association.
“There is no longer a direct bus, meaning elderly and vulnerable people have to pay for an expensive taxi ride or take the bus into Bedford, change to get to Ampthill, and then have to do the reverse to get home.”
The petition, completed online and on paper, was signed by over 20,003 residents from Wixams and neighbouring villages, a significant response which demonstrates just how many people would benefit from the much needed healthcare centre.
The petition will also be submitted to Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council, as the funding shortfall to build the facility has yet to be resolved.
It will remain open for signatures and residents have have not yet signed are encouraged to do so.
It is hoped the clear message sent by the community will encourage the main stakeholders at the ICB and the two local authorities to prioritise this matter, and work to find solutions which will lead to the delivery of the promised doctor’s surgery and allied healthcare provisions in Wixams.
DECEMBER 2023 EDITIONS ON LINE HERE:
BEDS BOROUGH
https://digital.magmgr.com/Preview/Index/2696083#page/1
BEDS COUNTY
https://digital.magmgr.com/Preview/Index/2696119#page/1
KEMPSTON CALLING
https://digital.magmgr.com/Preview/Index/2696127#page/1
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