AN NHS England representative acknow-ledged that consultation relating to the closure of the Okement Surgery in Okehampton was ‘less than good’ at a recent meeting.

At a meeting of the West Devon Borough Council’s Overview and Scrutiny (external) committee earlier this month, Rachael Crawley, assistant contract manager for NHS England, was in attendance to tell committee members that NHS England accepted public feedback about the lack of consultation relating to the surgery’s closure and that the public body would now change its strategy for the future.

Ms Crawley told members: ‘I was invited to attend today following the work taken in the Okehampton area around the closure of the Okement Surgery. We were told that the consultation was negligible and less than meaningful. NHS England has taken that on board.

‘We were limited by time scale in this situation, but following feedback we have had from people after the closure, we have changed our practise going forward as to how we would raise issues to primary care services in the future to town and parish councils and representatives.’

The GP surgery based at Okehampton Hospital closed in April, leaving 1,700 patients forced to look for a new GP. NHS England made the announcement last November stating that small practices like the Okement Surgery were not sustainable. However, many patients found out the news through the Times before receiving letters from NHS England. At the time, the surgery’s patient participation group expressed its disappointment at a lack of consultation.

Cllr Tony Leech, borough member for the ward of Okehampton North, said that the NHS website mentioned ‘shared decision making’ but that hadn’t seemed to have been the case.

He said: ‘I see this as being absolutely paramount with anything to do with healthcare. The minor injuries unit in Okehampton and the thing with the out of hours service — it all seems to be happening without any consultation.’

Ms Crawley added: ‘In the decision around the Okement Surgery, NHS England acknowledges that consultation with local people was less than good. From that we’ve learned and changed our practise. When changes occur that will change how patients access services, we would be in contact with patient participation groups and other organisations set up in different areas, such as Healthwatch Devon, so they all have a role to listen and share their views so we can understand the views of local people and receive comments that may help the decision process.

‘In Okehampton, in addition to primary care there have been questions about the MIU and out of hours services. The way the NHS system is set up is that the clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for a vast majority of services on our behalf. NHS England has direct responsible for primary care. I can only answer to my knowledge and position.’

Cllr Leech said he didn’t know how NHS England could set up CCGs and let them go and make major decisions without any consultation. He suggested that someone from higher management should attend a future meeting to explain exactly how the NHS works.

With the committee in agreement, is was decided to set up a working party to look at the structure of the NHS and seek assurances from both bodies (NHS England and CCG) about how they are going to better consult with the public and specifically look at the issues relating to Okehampton and Tavistock. It will also decide what to ask the CCG when a representative is available to attend a future meeting.