RESIDENTS are being urged to have their say on proposals to relocate some outpatient clinics from Handforth Clinic by taking part in a public consultation.

East Cheshire NHS Trust offers outpatient appointments with some consultants at Handforth Clinic, alongside a range of community healthcare services such as district nursing and physiotherapy.

Both Handforth Clinic and the adjacent Handforth Health Centre belong to the GP partners based at the building.

“In recent years, the part of the building used by East Cheshire NHS Trust to provide outpatient clinics and to accommodate community health services such as district nursing has been let to the trust under a complex agreement involving multiple partners,” said a trust spokesman.

“The trust’s existing lease expires in October 2017, and the trust faces a significant increase in costs from October if it is to keep all the space it currently occupies.

“As a result, the trust is proposing to retain the majority of its community services at Handforth but relocate the consultants’ clinics to its own sites in Macclesfield, Congleton and Knutsford – sites which Handforth patients will normally visit during their pathway of care for diagnostic services such as blood tests and X-rays.

“The proposals would involve no reduction in overall capacity and availability of appointments for these services.

“Additionally, less than half (46 per cent) of patients attending the clinics are from the Handforth (SK9 postcode) area, with other patients travelling to Handforth Health Centre from surrounding areas.”

Services which the trust intends to keep at Handforth Health Centre, subject to final negotiations with partners, include community nursing services, epilepsy clinic, physiotherapy, continence, cardio respiratory diagnostics, paediatric speech and language therapy, Parkinson’s clinic, heart failure clinic, weight management anti-coagulant clinic, GP out-of-hours.

To take part in the consultation visit eastcheshire.nhs.uk/Get-Involved/handforth-health-centre.htm

Printed copies of the consultation document have been distributed at community venues in and around the Handforth area and shared with patient groups.

The consultation runs until Sunday, September 3, after which the trust will assess responses from patients, the public and stakeholders.

The spokesman added: “No final decisions have been made in relation to the proposals, and the trust is encouraging everyone with an interest in the issue to take part in the consultation.”