Patients told to find alternative as GPs retire

HEALTH chiefs have insisted they had no choice but to close a West Hampstead doctor’s surgery despite fears that sick patients will be left with nowhere to go.
The New Journal revealed last week that twin doctors Andrew and Bohdan Meeson, 70, are retiring from their popular practice in Finchley Road. But with patients told to find alternative surgeries, Liberal Democrat politicians say there could be heightened problems for residents in the north west of the borough, who currently face long waits for appointments.
Ed Fordham, the party’s Hampstead and Highgate prospective parliamentary candidate for the general election, said: “The closure of the Finchley Road surgery has come as something of a shock to people. The only real notification has come from the letter issued by the PCT to registered patients. The truth is that many people will not realise that they no longer have a doctor and in fact have been de-registered until they come to need a GP and discover the problem. I have written to the Primary Care Trust but have not to date had a reply.”
He claimed the PCT may have failed in a legal duty to consult further with patients.
“This is not simply about notifying patients of what is going to happen, it is about having a meaningful dialogue and being responsive to what local people think,” added Mr Fordham.
In a letter to this week’s New Journal, Councillor Jonathan Simpson, the former candidate who Mr Fordham replaced, added: “I hope Camden PCT finds a solution to the loss of this practice as soon as possible before having a doctor in West Hampstead becomes a rare luxury.”
But health bosses say their hands were tied as the building is no longer suitable for a surgery and cannot be upgraded. A PCT press statement said: “The Meeson Practice premises has been categorised as 4(b) under the GP Premises Clarifications according to the Regional Audit Office.
“The definition of a practice premise categorised in this way is ‘premises that do not satisfy minimum requirements and are not capable of being improved’.”
PCT press officials insist that most patients have been accommodated and all were warned before the surgery’s closure that they would have to look elsewhere.
Their statement added: “Details of the team based at the PCT which helps Camden residents to find a GP were also included in the letter as a contact point for any patient who was experiencing any difficulty in finding another GP.”