Nottingham GP practice with 10,000 patients ‘could close’ because of financial row

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Wellspring Surgery is a tenant inside the St Anns Valley Centre, Livingston Road. (Photo: Google)

A Nottingham GP surgery serving 10,000 patients could close because of a dispute with its landlords over fees, managers say.

Wellspring Surgery, which operates inside the St Anns Valley Centre, on Livingstone Road, St Anns, claims ‘high costs’ charged by its landlord NHS Property Services could bankrupt the practice.

Doctors have issued a notice to patients, warning them the service is at risk and blaming an increase in service charges at the property, which houses several other services.

NHS Property Services says its costs and charges “have not changed significantly”, adding it believed the surgery’s bills could have increased because it has lost subsidies.

The surgery notice, signed by Dr Teed and partners, read: “The partners are unable to stabilise the practice until there is a solution to this issue and are very concerned for the practice and, of course, our patients.”

It adds: “There have been numerous service charge issues over the years. Our service charges have increased tenfold since 2012 with no clear explanation nor reasonable justification of this and this is what we are disputing.

“If new charges are to stand it will make the practice financially unviable and could potentially bankrupt the partners.

“The freeholders are Nottingham City Council and no tenancy agreement has been signed (cannot be agreed) between the council and our landlord, NHS Property Services.”

NHS Property Services is a limited company owned by the Department of Health which took over the ownership of around 3,600 NHS buildings in April 2013 as part of Government reform.

A spokesman for NHS Property Services said: “Our costs and charges for this building have not changed significantly in recent years. Wellspring Surgery has seen an increase in bills due to reductions in their NHS subsidies and also because they have increased the amount of space they use.

“We recognise the concerns they have and we will be working with the practice and commissioners to find a way forward.”

Nottingham City Clinical Commissioning Group, which commissions the surgery on behalf of the NHS, said its ‘first priority’ was to make sure patients could carry on seeing a GP.

A spokesman said: “The increase in service charges demanded by NHS Property Services is clearly placing the future of one of our biggest city GP practices in jeopardy.

“That’s why we are working closely with staff at the practice as well as partners at Nottingham City Council and have requested an urgent meeting with NHSPS to discuss the structure and basis of these charges.

“We hope the practice is able to move forward with fair and reasonable costs for their estate and facilities, following these discussions.”

The surgery is a tenant in the purpose-built centre, which cost £15 million and opened in 2012.

It also houses St Ann’s Library and other local council services.

A petition, calling on authorities to keep the surgery open, has been set up.

Managers at the surgery say they have written to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Jonathan Ashworth, Shadow Health Secretary, and Nottingham East MP, Chris Leslie, about the dispute.

Nick McDonald, Nottingham City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Adults and Health, said: “St Ann’s Valley Centre is a partnership scheme with the NHS and we are working with our colleagues in the Clinical Commissioning Group to help keep a GP service within St Ann’s.

“This is a matter between NHS Property Services and the GP surgery. There are no management fees or rent, so we charge only building costs such as maintenance to NHS Property Services and these charges have dropped over the last two full financial years.

“However, we will do everything we can to assist the GP surgery to resolve their current situation with NHS Property Services.”

 

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