A HOST of clinics are set to be moved out of Handforth Health Centre after health chiefs were faced with an additional £120,000-a-year bill to run them.

Orthopaedic, paediatric and gynaecology clinics are among 12 which are expected to be relocated from the centre, in Wilmslow Road, later this year and moved to sites in Knutsford, Macclesfield and Congleton.

The move comes as the current lease between Handforth Health Centre and East Cheshire NHS Trust – which runs the clinics on the site – ends next month.

Until now the trust has paid a discounted rate to use the health centre, but its GPs are now asking the full market value in rent.

And NHS Eastern Cheshire clinical commissioning group (CCG), which used to subsidise the clinics under threat, has announced it can no longer afford to do so – all leaving the trust with an additional £120,000-a-year bill.

The plans emerged at a Cheshire East Council health and adult social care overview and scrutiny committee meeting in Sandbach on Thursday, April 6.

At the meeting Kat Senior, from East Cheshire NHS Trust, said: “Approximately 4,000 clinic appointments a year would be affected.

“Of these, 46 per cent are for residents of Handforth and the surrounding area, and 54 per cent are for residents from elsewhere in east Cheshire.

“Many of these clinics are underutilised, and quite a few of them have not been 60 per cent or 70 per cent occupied.

“We fully intend to offer these at other sites but clearly there is an impact on patients who are currently accessing clinic appointments at Handforth.”

Kat added that the trust wanted to move the clinics by mid-May, but CEC’s scrutiny committee urged the trust to first hold a 12-week consultation period with patients.

East Cheshire NHS Trust intends to move services into sites it already owns.

Orthopaedics, breast surgery, gynaecology, and urology clinics would relocate to Macclesfield District General Hospital under the proposal, while respiratory and rheumatology services would be shared between Macclesfield and Knutsford District Community Hospital.

Community dental and audit audiology clinics would also move to Macclesfield, while plastic surgery would be relocated to Congleton War Memorial Hospital.

Maternity services would move to Oakenclough, in Colshaw Farm, while several community services would remain in Handforth – including antenatal, physiotherapy and weight management.

Following the meeting, NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG and East Cheshire NHS Trust issued a joint statement.

It said: “East Cheshire NHS Trust currently provides a number of outpatient clinics and community services from the Handforth Health Centre site.

“Discussions have taken place about whether some of the services may transfer to Macclesfield, however the full implications of the transfer are still being discussed.

“More information will be available after Easter.”

After being approached for comment by the Guardian, the GP partners at Handforth Health Centre issued a statement.

“As part of the agreement of the purchase of Handforth Health Centre in 1992 a portion of the property was leased back to the Secretary of State for Health at a discounted rate for a period of 25 years,” it said.

“This lease is due to end and Handforth Health Centre have been in discussion with East Cheshire Trust over the past 18 months regarding a further lease, and discussions will continue to this effect.”