I have spoken and met with David Smith from Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group who assured me that they are aware of patients still on the list and are taking the following measures:
- There will be a GP available at the surgery until 31st March to deal with any urgent issues that come up for patients who have not registered elsewhere. Following my conversation with David Smith he has asked the team to look at whether this can be extended.
- The staff at Deer Park are phoning all remaining patients to urge them to register with another practice and will continue to do this until 31st March.
- Virgin Care have confirmed that almost all the patients who are deemed vulnerable are now registered elsewhere. Families with young children have been considered a priority group for contacting.
- All patients in care homes have been registered with other practices.
- Once the practice is closed on 31st March, patients will still be able to register with a new GP at any point and will be able to be seen for urgent issues as soon as they register.
- Immediate transfer of the online patient record between practices will be available for 6 months after closure, managed by the CSU. This means that important information about a patient's medical history and current conditions can be accessed straight away by the new GP on registration.
- Registration packs from other practices are available at Deer Park and staff are assisting patients in completing them and also helping to register them online.
- All local practices have open lists and are accepting any patients from Deer Park who live in their boundaries.
- Information about practice boundaries is available on the OCCG website and that of Healthwatch. The patient services team is also advising patients who phone in about the practices covering their addresses.
- The CCG is not able to assign remaining patients to other practices without their consent as the principle of patient choice is paramount. Given the determination of many patients to remain with Deer Park for as long as possible, attempting to impose registration elsewhere would not have been well-received.
I also pressed the need to keep the practice open until a decision is made by the IRP to ensure continuity of service should Deer Park remain open.
