Move of Golders Green medical centre to Finchley is 'a scandal'

Patients of a Golders Green medical centre which has served the Jewish community for more than 70 years have described the decision to transfer it to a location outside its catchment area as "a terrible blow".

A meeting of Barnet’s CCG [Clinical Commissioning Group] agreed to the move of the Ravenscroft Medical Centre from Golders Green Road to Finchley Memorial Hospital, 3.2 miles away.

The surgery serves around 7,500 patients, a few thousand of them Jews.

One who attended the CCG meeting said the situation was “a scandal. Of the 25 or so people sitting around the table, only three of them had a vote - [it] was from the beginning a foregone conclusion.

“My overwhelming belief is that we have been betrayed and let down by the surgery and Barnet CCG. The only possible explanation is financial.

"There are certainly no benefits to any of the patients, despite claims to the contrary by those holding the purse strings.”

In a letter in February from Dr Barry Subel, principal partner at the surgery, patients were told its GPs “feel that relocating to Finchley Memorial Hospital will offer the opportunity to see and treat you within a modern, purpose-built healthcare facility.

“We believe that this will bring other benefits to you as a patient, such as the co-location of community services like blood tests and X-rays.”

But the Jewish surgery member pointed out that Dr Subel is vice-chair of the local CCG.

He also noted that “public access to Finchley Memorial Hospital is, as the CCG admitted at that fateful meeting last Thursday, 'a problem'.

“There is no direct public transport to the hospital and the nearest bus stop leaves a 15 minute walk, which for young mothers with children, the elderly and disabled and otherwise disadvantaged patients, may well prove impossible - especially in inclement weather. The whole journey can easily take upwards of 40 minutes one way.

“If you think, for example, of the elderly residents of Selig Court [in Golders Green] - many of whom are Holocaust survivors - who need the services of a carer, such a journey would be a nightmare.”

Dr Brian Golden, a former senior partner at the surgery, described the move as “an example of the CCG behaving badly and forgetting that they should be putting the interests of patients first". He had previously warned that in the event of the transfer being approved, the decision would likely be challenged via a judicial review.

In a statement, Barnet CCG said the move was not expected to take place before January and that patients would be given eight weeks’ notice and clear information on the options available to them. 

Dr Subel reiterated that the move was “a fantastic opportunity. We intend to work hard to improve the health of our patients, reducing the number of visits patients need to make to the surgery and ensuring that when they do visit, they can also benefit from all the other services available at Finchley Memorial Hospital.”

Kay Matthews, the CCG's chief operating officer, said Ravenscroft and its partners intended to develop services "that are at the forefront of local NHS improvements. As well as offering excellent care, the move will save the NHS around £150,000 a year – money that can be used to benefit other patients in need of care.”