Commenting on the decision by NHS England not to fund Burntwood’s proposed new health centre, Michael Fabricant asks whether it was ever going to be viable in its present form. Michael says:

“I share Burntwood’s disappointment that NHS England has decided not to fund the new health centre on the grounds that it ‘can only support projects where firm plans were approved and money was formally committed’.

“However, its construction was always conditional on local GPs wanting to move into it which would require a contribution from their own development budgets and a substantial influx of patients to make the health centre viable. With most local GPs withdrawing from the scheme, for quite legitimate reasons, it jeopardised the project from thereon.

“Without a sufficiently large pool of patients, the Health Centre was never going to be viable.

“So we need to move on with alternative plans.

“I have called for an urgent meeting with health ministers and have asked for a detailed written explanation as to why the Health Centre proposal was rejected.

“I then hope that armed with that knowledge, we can move forward with an alternative and more viable configuration which will meet the needs of patients in Burntwood and its local doctors in the years to come.”