On Friday 28 July an event was held in the Churchfields Community Centre to update local residents who had been affected by the fire, on what is happening at the site and about future plans. It was hosted by the local NHS organisations but also in attendance were the Police, the Fire Service, local councillors and our local MP.
Moving forward appears to be rather complex because the site is owned by NHS Property Services but the health services provided there come from various providers, the biggest ones being the two independent GP Practices plus CSH Surrey which runs all the local community health services, including the Walk in Centre. Separately it is the North West Surrey Clinical Commissioning Group (NWS CCG) which holds the budgets locally as the commissioner and who decides how and where services are provided.
Overall the main points arising were;
Short term
– The two GP Practices will be moved back to the site, hopefully by October, housed in temporary buildings.
– In the interim a temporary transport service is being looked into for patients without their own means of getting to Walton.
– The cause of the fire is still unknown and it may be sometime before the results of an investigation are known.
Longer term
– A new permanent building will be provided on the site however that is likely to take at least three years.
– There was no commitment to what services would be provided in the building except for the GP Practices. This was because NWS CCG and the providers want to evaluate what services are likely to be needed in the future.
– The CCG promised to have regular engagement with local people as their plans are developing.