Health bosses have denied that a possible closure of a popular Birmingham walk-in centre is ‘just about money’.
Leaders of the CrossCity commissioning group met with local residents and MP Steve McCabe to discuss the future of the South Birmingham Walk-in centre in Katie Road,
More than 60 local residents grilled bosses about the closure of the centre, and its proposed relocation to the A&E department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston.
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But Dr Galvin Ralston, Chair of Birmingham CrossCity CCG assured residents that the centre, which sees more than 51,000 patients every year, would not be closed ‘willy nilly’.
Afterwards hesaid: “Patient care is paramount. We must ensure that any proposed changes to the system will improve patient care and will not affect any particular groups of patients or communities adversely.
“Walk-in centres are popular and it would be irresponsible to change them willy-nilly."
Dr Barbara King, Chief Accountability Officer, added: “It isn’t just about money, it is about patients who use A&E inappropriately, knowing where they should go or easing pressure off A&E staff by referring them to a walk-in centre close by.”
Currently informal consultations are being run regarding the walk-in centre proposals, with a formal consultation due to begin in September 2014.
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But , said he was concerned that local people’s voices were not being heard.
He said: “Although the CCG says no decision has been made, they must have realised that if they are serious about listening to people, it was obvious that a majority of my constituents aren’t in favour of moving the Walk-In Centre to the A&E department.
“I share the concerns of my constituents and I think that it is important that we take advantage of the pre-consultation phase to prepare our case before the formal consultation.”