FOLLOWING news that Hatherleigh Medical Centre was officially opened on December 17, residents in Shebbear are concerned there has been no movement towards the procurement of their own surgery.

Residents of Shebbear were left without a doctor in the village for the first time in 130 years when the doors to Beech House Surgery were locked after negotiations between retiring GP Dr Francis Fernandez and Ruby Country Medical Group (RCMG) broke down at the start of July 2018.

Forward motion has been slow for the people of Shebbear and speaking about the progress being made in the case to bring a surgery back to the village, Conservative Torridge District Council deputy leader and ward member for Shebbear and Langtree David Hurley said: “I can only say that things have not moved on in the village with regard to a replacement surgery since the old building closed last July.”

He said the last advancement was when a small sub committee comprising of three parish councillors and three members of the public met with RCMG: “They persuaded RCMG to request that the bus service be extended beyond the end of January cut off point. This was duly arranged and the one bus a day service will now cease at the end of February. To be fair though, it was reported by a councillor at the parish council this week, that the bus service is underutilised.”

After discussion, a bus service was set up for the people of Shebbear and Hatherleigh to take them to Holsworthy Medical Practice for appointments to see a doctor or nurse.

The service subsequently ceased to operate from Hatherleigh following the official opening of its surgery. The service from Shebbear, which ran twice a day, was due to finish at the end of January. However RCMG persuaded NHS England to extend the service, which now runs once a day leaving the Square at 9.30am to arrive in Holsworthy for 10am, returning one to one and a half hours later. This will continue until February 28.

However many have said this service is inadequate and a surgery in Shebbear is what’s needed.

Concerned residents Barry Hunt, Catherine Frith and Sue Tiner said: “Losing our surgery is not simply an inconvenience.

“The Shebbear surgery was a primary care centre, also serving Langtree, Buckland Filleigh, Milton Damerel, Bradford and Thornbury. We are an isolated community with limited public transport and a large elderly population.

“The temporary bus service to Holsworthy surgery will end in February. What will patients without transport do thereafter?

“The residents of Shebbear deserve to be treated with respect and to be fully informed and updated. Many of us have written to Geoffrey Cox, our MP, who has responded sympathetically and promised to organise and chair a meeting with all parties in order to seek a satisfactory resolution. Sadly, Mr Cox has, thus far, failed to deliver this promise.

“We urgently need answers to the following questions: Why is our purpose built village surgery unable to be utilised by RCMG? What plans does RCMG have for an alternative surgery in Shebbear and what is the timescale? How will RCMG resolve the issue of transport provision, in the interim, for patients who are without a car?”

In response Conservative MP for Torridge and West Devon Geoffrey Cox has assured he is still on the case and has promised to ‘continue to put pressure on all parties’. He said: “Since my meeting in September with local residents I have remained in ongoing dialogue with the parties involved, holding individual meetings with both the CCG [Clinical Commissioning Group] and RCMG to explore the issue in greater detail.

“Following those meetings, I understand that the CCG are due to meet again with RCMG, and I have been asked to wait until the outcome of these discussions are known before taking any further action. I can assure you that I will continue to put pressure on all parties involved to ensure a satisfactory agreement is reached.”

Jane Wells, managing partner of the RCMG, said it is a ‘real delight’ to have opened a surgery in Hatherleigh but made assurances there will be a refocus in efforts to look for a long term option for Shebbear.

In the meantime residents are able to transfer to the Hatherleigh practise if more convenient but can continue to be seen at Holsworthy Medical Practice with funding from NHS England having been extended until February 28 to continue the running of the minibus service.

RCMG has been monitoring patient use of the minibus since the service began in July 2018 and will continue to do so now that the new surgery in Hatherleigh is open. On average they said two to three patients from Hatherleigh and Shebbear have used the minibus service each day.

Jane added: “NHS England has kindly agreed to extend the funding of the minibus provision for a while longer so we can now refocus our efforts in looking at the long-term options in Shebbear. Patients from Shebbear can make use of the new Hatherleigh surgery, and it may well be more convenient for some rather than going to Holsworthy.”