Bath MP Wera Hobhouse has launched a new campaign calling for a neighbourhood health centre in Twerton, warning that local health services need to be “restored”.
MP Wera Hobhouse with councillors Tim Ball and Sarah Moore
The Liberal Democrat MP has started a petition backing the proposal, which comes as new figures show long waits for GP appointments across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire have almost doubled in five years.
Since January, 321,299 GP appointments in the area have involved waits of more than 28 days, compared with 169,675 at the same point five years ago – an 89% increase.
The local campaign sits alongside a national Liberal Democrat pledge for 8,000 more GPs across the country, with a guarantee that patients would be able to get a GP appointment within seven days, or 24 hours in urgent cases.
Under the proposals, the new Twerton neighbourhood health centre would open 12 hours a day, six days a week, following a model already supported by the NHS nationally.
It would bring together doctors, pharmacists, community nurses, occupational therapists, diagnostics and outpatient rehab in a single building, to provide a range of services closer to where people live.
The MP argues that by co-locating services, patients in Twerton could be seen more quickly and treated more effectively.
Wera Hobhouse said: “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure a new neighbourhood health centre for our community. With the NHS encouraging bids for new health centres nationally, we must seize this opportunity to repair the damage of Conservative neglect.
“Twerton did not have a fair deal on the NHS under the last government – and we face a real crisis in access to basic services – not least GPs.
“Every week I meet more people who have to wait weeks to have alarming symptoms investigated. The truth is, our GPs and NHS staff across Bath have been pushed to breaking point.
“A new facility that gives doctors and nurses the tools they need, improves access to general practice, and introduces new community services, is a crucial step in delivering better, more accessible care for local people, and in banishing the 8am scramble.”
Liberal Democrat councillors for Twerton and Whiteway, Tim Ball and Sarah Moore, added: “We are very pleased with the proposals for more localised health centres.
“We believe these plans will bring real benefits to the communities of Twerton and Whiteway, who often face challenges accessing the main services.”
You can sign the petition at https://bit.ly/4jndq6z.
