This month has seen approval for major changes in GP provision in South Yorkshire with the South Yorkshire ICB giving the go ahead to a project in Sheffield to merge seven local GP surgeries into three large hub complexes and plans to merge four GP surgeries into new health hubs in Doncaster going out for consultation.
The projects will both be funded by the £57.5m allocated to primary care bids across South Yorkshire. The Sheffield project has been awarded £37m to ‘transform GP practices across the city’ and the Doncaster scheme will need almost £13m of the funding.
Primary care in the area is badly in need of investment, but the plans to merge GP surgeries has been controversial. Public consultation and criticism from councillors has meant that the initial scheme in Sheffield for the closure of 15 GP surgeries and building of five hubs, has been scaled back to seven GP surgeries closing and the building of three hubs.
The ICB hopes that new buildings will mean more services located together and entice more staff to the area as recruitment is a major difficulty at the moment.
Full story in The Lowdown, 27 February 2023