Dear Patient / Carer
Further to our previous communication on the proposal to close our branch surgery at 21 Halefield Street, St Helens WA10 2DE, we can now confirm that our application to NHS St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was approved. The surgery at Halefield Street will therefore close on 31st March 2020.
The Doctors will still be able to see all patients who are currently registered with Halefield Medical Centre at the main site, Berrymead Medical Centre, 140 Berry’s Lane, Parr, St Helens, WA9 3RP. We are committed to giving our patients the best care possible, which we will be able to do best from Berrymead Medical Centre.
If you feel that you can no longer remain registered with the practice you can choose to register with another practice within whose boundary you live. There are a number of other practices close to the town centre and you may be able to register with one of these if your home address is within the practice boundary. Information about these and other local GP practices can be found on the NHS website: www.nhs.uk.
Just select the ‘Find a GP’ option under the ‘NHS Services’ heading on the Home page.
Alternatively, you can get details about local practices from the NHS England Contact centre:
NHS England,
PO Box 16738,
Redditch,
B97 9PT
Telephone: 0300 311 2233
Email: england.contactus@nhs.net
Opening hours are: 08:00 to 18:00, Monday to Friday, except Wednesdays when the contact centre opens at 09:30am. The contact centre is closed bank holidays.
The closure of Halefield Medical Centre will mean patients have more consistent care and improved access to appointments and we will continue to provide personalised care to meet your particular needs. This consolidation to one site will help to secure the future of the Practice in an ever changing NHS landscape. All current clinical, reception and administrative staff will be based at our main surgery, Berrymead Medical Centre. This will enable us to provide a more efficient service and help to cope with increasing workloads.
If you have any questions regarding this letter or need support to register with a new practice please contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), who will be happy to help. You can contact PALS on 0800 218 2333, Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 17:00 (excluding bank holidays).
We will be holding ‘drop in’ sessions at Halefield Medical Centre and Berrymead Medical Centre, where representatives of the Practice and NHS St Helens CCG will be able to discuss the decision and answer any questions that you may have. Dates for these sessions are as follows:
Halefield Medical Centre – Thursday, 30th January, at 13:00
Berrymead Medical Centre – Thursday, 6th February, at 13:00
In the meantime, if you have any queries about the practice closure, please contact us on 01744 22520.
Yours sincerely
Dr Pattullo & Dr Sachdev
GP Partners