Strangford clinic work to be finished by March

Strangford clinic work to be finished by March

19 November 2014

WORK to upgrade Strangford clinic is expected to be completed before the end of the financial year, health chiefs have confirmed.

A proposal to close the clinic has been shelved and the facility is to be upgraded to allow GPs to continue providing services for patients in the village and surrounding area.

The Health and Social Care Board said the clinic will be updated to meet the needs of the Strangford community, while the GPs say the services they provide in the village have been “protected for the foreseeable future.”

The Board says the clinic will remain open following an agreement it has reached with GPs and the South Eastern Trust.

A Board spokeswoman said it had been considering an application to close the Strangford facility from Drs. Una Small and David Moore who had raised concerns about the quality of the Trust-owned premises in the village.

The GPs were proposing to transfer the services they provide in the village to their main surgery at the Downe Hospital in Downpatrick.

The Board spokeswoman said the decision to keep the clinic open was taken after quality of care and patient choice issues were considered.

“The Board also sought the views of patients who would have been impacted through a patient survey and sought to bring about an agreement to resolve the issues raised that would allow the Strangford clinic to continue to provide safe and accessible patient care during its operational hours,” she said.

“The South Eastern Trust is committed to providing improvements to address some of the concerns raised by Drs. Small and Moore in relation to the quality of the premises.”

The spokeswoman said it’s hoped work to improve facilities at the Strangford clinic will be completed before the end of the financial year and said the South Eastern Trust has confirmed that its treatment room service will be remaining at the clinic.

“The Health and Social Care Board would like to thank all surgery patients who responded to the survey and aided the decision making process,” she added.

Councillor Gareth Sharvin said he’s pleased work to improve the Strangford clinic will be completed before the end of next March and again thanked all those involved in the campaign to keep the doors of the facility open.

He also believes the decision to keep the clinic open provides an opportunity for additional health and social services to be delivered in the village.

Councillor Sharvin added: “The loss of this facility would have been a major blow for the Strangford area. The important thing now is to welcome its retention, planned investment and for everyone to look to the future provision of GP services in Strangford with confidence.”