What is changing
Roe Lane Surgery stopped being a COVID-19 Contact Centre in September and it will not reopen for face-to-face appointments.
So, in future you will not be able to walk in to the Roe Lane Surgery building and any appointments you may need will be:
- Held over the telephone or video, or
- Held at Christiana Hartley if you need to be seen by a GP or other member of the practice team
Why we need to change
There are a number of factors that led to the merger of our two practices and to the decision to close Roe Lane, that we would like to explain to you.
Roe Lane Surgery was facing a number of workforce and estates challenges that we will explain in this section, which meant the practice would have become unsustainable had it not merged with Christiana Hartley.
The previous sole GP partner at Roe Lane, Dr Alison Trevor had been seeking to retire in 2020 but delayed this decision to ensure safe services could continue for patients following reductions in practice staff and pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After exploring options, Dr Adele Farrell at Christiana Hartley agreed to join the Roe Lane contract enabling Dr Trevor to retire. Importantly, this ensured Roe Lane patients continued to have access to services.
Additionally, all GP practices are currently facing increased demand for their services and Roe Lane and Christiana Hartley are no different, so merging is helping us to deal with this. All existing members of staff from Roe Lane have moved to Curzon Road, creating a bigger team with a greater number of staff including GPs, nurses, medicines management professionals and administrative staff.
Bringing staff together on one site at Christiana Hartley makes our practice much more resilient. Working together means we can provide more appointments and are better able to deal with cover for periods of staff sickness or leave. This has been particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alongside workforce issues, there are also challenges with the building that houses Roe Lane Surgery. As a former residential home, the property was not built to house medical services. Converted into the practice many years ago, it is outdated and not fit for purpose for modern primary care services and would be too expensive to re-develop to meet future needs.
Christiana Hartley premises are a relatively new development within a well-established NHS building that has the benefit of more parking. The reception area has recently been updated and more space has been made available to accommodate the bigger practice team, as well as adding a new clinic room. Christiana Hartley also offers better access for patients with disabilities, such as a ramp and automatic door at the entrance.
Overall, the merger offers many benefits. It will ensure that together, our practices are better equipped to deal with the pressures that today’s general practices are facing. We also believe the merger means that all of our registered patients will continue to benefit from access to outstanding services into the future.
Find out more
Click on the links below to find out more about the closure of Roe Lane GP practice, how you can comment and how to request any support you may need to take part:
- Introduction - your say about the closure of Roe Lane GP practice
- The current picture
- What is changing and why
- What the changes mean for you
- How you can have your say
- Data protection statement
You can also find all this information in a single downloadable booklet.
