Councillors agreed on 4 November to review the possible closure of Waverton's branch GP surgery. A task group meets on 24 November and reports on 2 December.

Waverton’s branch GP surgery may close. Cheshire West and Chester councillors have been told, and they are planning a review to decide whether patients should get a formal public consultation.

A scrutiny paper for the council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 4 November says the committee “has been notified that Waverton Branch Surgery, a branch surgery of Tarporley Health Centre, may potentially close”.

Updated 7 November: the committee approved the review on 4 November, and the ward councillor told it that no bus links Waverton with Tarvin or Tarporley. Details below.

The paper gives no reason, no date and no patient numbers. Those are among the questions the review is meant to answer.

The surgery is listed by the NHS at Waverton Village Hall on Common Lane, CH3 7QT. Waverton is about four miles south east of Chester. Tarporley Health Centre, on Park Road, is about six miles from Waverton in a straight line.

We could not find any notice about the closure from the NHS or the practice. The practice website would not load when we tried it today. The NHS listing for Waverton still shows it accepting new patients. This story will be updated when either publishes more.

What the review will look at

The review is set to examine:

  • why the closure is being proposed, and the evidence for it
  • how much the branch is used and what role it plays
  • the effect on patients, including travel, access and continuity of care
  • the effect on vulnerable patients
  • whether Tarporley Health Centre and other providers have room for those affected
  • what the NHS proposes to do about any harm

What happened on 4 November

The committee approved the review without opposition on the evening of 4 November. Minutes are not yet published, so this account comes from our own transcript of the council’s webcast of the meeting.

An officer told the committee that NHS Cheshire and Merseyside had approached it about a “potential closure”. The review is being done by a task group, rather than the full committee, because the December meeting is already busy.

Councillor Stephen Mosley, a ward councillor for the area, spoke in support of the review. He told the committee:

  • the surgery is “incredibly well used” and, for many villagers, “the only easily accessible service that they’ve got”
  • there is “no public transport that links Waverton with either Tarvin or Tarporley”, so patients without a car would have to travel via Chester
  • registering with a Chester practice is hard because Waverton is outside their catchments, including for home visits
  • of 12 regular members of a group for residents aged over 80 in the village, 10 have no transport of their own
  • the practice held public meetings in the village and consulted over the summer, but “hasn’t got back to us” on what happens to those patients

He said the parish council, the local MP Aphra Brandreth and local groups including the Waverton Day Centre had all put forward views. He asked the task group to hear from them, and the officer confirmed it would consider those responses.

We have not seen the practice’s consultation or any reply from it, so its side of the plan is not yet on the record.

The key dates

  • 24 November: the task group meets
  • 2 December: its findings and recommendations go to the full committee

The review runs alongside any decision by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, the integrated care board that plans local services. The paper lists its representatives and the practice’s as possible witnesses, along with Healthwatch Cheshire and ward councillors.

Why the label “substantial variation” matters

The whole review turns on one legal question. The NHS must consult the council on any “substantial development or variation” in health services. If the committee decides that closing Waverton is one, these are the next steps set out in the paper:

  • the committee formally tells the integrated care board
  • it expects full details of the proposal, and the council’s protocol expects a period of public consultation
  • it can make recommendations, and the NHS can be asked to answer within 28 days

If the NHS disagrees, the two sides go through a dispute process. If that fails, the NHS can still go ahead. The council could then consider asking the Health Secretary to call the decision in.

What it means for you

If you are registered at Waverton, nothing in the paper says your care has changed yet. Nothing says a decision has been made.

The paper lists these ways for the public to feed in:

  • speaking at a Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting
  • giving evidence through Healthwatch
  • responding to any NHS engagement on the proposal
  • contacting your ward councillors

Ward councillors are due to give evidence to the task group, so they are the people to tell how you use the surgery and how you would get to Tarporley without it.