HEALTH chiefs are moving forward with plans to move outpatient clinics from Handforth – but are promising more primary care resources as a result.

NHS East Cheshire Trust and NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) made a joint presentation to Cheshire East Council’s health and social care overview and scrutiny committee on Thursday, June 15, reiterating their intention to withdraw services from Handforth Health Centre, in Wilmslow Road.

The trust estimates that 405 patients will be most affected by the removal of secondary care services from the site – such as orthopaedic, paediatric and gynaecology clinics – when the CCG’s expires at the end of October.

But patients are being reassured that the move will allow GPs to provide more primary and community care services – and no consultants will be made redundant.

At last week’s meeting Steven Redfern, deputy director of operations at NHS East Cheshire Trust, told councillors: “GP partners in Handforth are very keen where they can increase their primary care offer to patients.

“Part of their concern is that the building is limited in being able to provide more services would mean needing more space.

“Our focus should be on community provision in Handforth, so with secondary care we feel there is an opportunity for choice.”

The move first came to light at a scrutiny committee meeting in April, when Kat Senior, from the trust, told councillors as many as 4,000 appointments a year would be affected by the change.

This figure has now been reconsidered, with an estimated 1,095 patients a year from SK9 expected to be affected, while 405 of these are registered with a GP at Handforth Health Centre.

Mr Redfern added that the removal of some ‘high-use’ outpatient services from the site could also mean fewer duplicate appointments, where patients would already have to go elsewhere to use X-ray facilities that are unavailable in Handforth.

Neil Evans, director of commissioning at NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG, told the committee that patients will be given the option to travel locally to Wilmslow and Colshaw Farm, or to Wythenshawe, Stockport and Altrincham for many of the services affected.

“As a commissioner, our responsibility is to make sure that patients have a reasonable choice,” he said.

“There may be a view that once services are lost in Handforth they would travel straight to Macclesfield, but that is not necessarily the case.

"People would have a choice of alternatives that their GP would offer them.”

The CCG claims it must relocate services because Handforth Health Centre is underutilised, and NHS Property Services is putting CCGs under pressure to make better use of the NHS estate.

While the committee agreed there was a need for the services to be moved, several members raised concerns over transport arrangements for Handforth patients, with some NHS transport arrangements limited to just patients suffering with mental health problems or receiving state benefits.

Cllr Barry Burkhill, CEC member for Handforth, told the committee that transport was a major concern, with bus services in the area being reduced.

“I can understand what’s happening, but what bothers me is access,” he said.

“There are buses between Handforth, Manchester and Macclesfield, but getting there and back can be a problem.”

The committee agreed that health chiefs must now progress with a 12-week public consultation period, once it has provided CEC with full details on travel arrangements and site capacity in the next month.