More than 500 people sign petition to save GP surgery in Derbyshire villlage

The campaigners have just weeks to make their objections to the plans to close the Pilsley surgery proposed by Staffa Health Care.

The GP practice is proposing to close its branch which serves around 2,800 patients due to ‘challenging’ staffing difficulties and ‘workload pressures’.

Derbyshire GP surgery to close due to staffing problemsDerbyshire County Councillor Kevin Gillott is supporting the campaign.

He said: ”The petition has not gone in yet and I understand there are 5-600 names on it. For a village the size of Pilsley this is a huge amount of people.

“I am very supportive of my community - it is a large village and to lose that would be quite devastating for many people.”

As it stands, the practice is based from Tibshelf, with three smaller branches in Holmewood, Pilsley and Stonebroom.

However, it says that staffing four sites has become “increasingly difficult” and it has had to resort to spending more on costly locum (temporary) staff.

A report from the Derby and Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Staffa Health have outlined a challenging workforce position and in common with other GP practices is

experiencing difficulties in retaining and recruiting to GP, nurse and pharmacist sessions. In the last three years the practice has lost a Salaried GP and two GP Partners, partially due to undesirable multi-site working and workload pressures.

“With a reduction in GP numbers, staffing four sites with a GP has become increasingly difficult.

The report adds Staffa Health believe that fewer sites will make the practice a more attractive career option for future incoming GPs - sustainability of the practice is reliant on attracting

new GPs and new Partners.

Coun Gillott said the alternatives at Tibshelf Holmewood and Stonebroom would be a real challenge people who did not have access to their own transport , in particular elderly and frail people and those with mobility problems who are ill.

He added: “They would struggle to travel to those villages particularly in bad weather on public transport.

“I would hope Staffa Health would reflect on their proposal and come up with an alternative solution that leaves a surgery in Pilsley.”

Consultation on the proposed closure is set to end on Friday, August 23.