Petition launched after plans for new GP surgery in Pensnett shelved
A petition has been launched to reopen a Pensnett GP surgery which was closed during the pandemic.
Plans to build a new pharmacy and medical centre on Pensnett High Street have been shelved.
Pensnett and Brockmoor Councillor Julie Foster launched the petition after the GPs moved to Brierley Hill to make way for a Covid testing centre.
She said: "Back in Spring 2020 when High Oak surgery had been relocated to Brierley Hill to make way for a Covid testing centre at High Oak, no one was sure whether that meant the High Oak building could host a surgery again.
"So I gathered a petition – supported by hundreds of people – including patients of High Oak, which called for a state of the art facility in Pensnett. Now further down the line in 2022, we have the opportunity for a GP surgery to return to High Oak to meet an ever-expanding population in Pensnett which includes an offer by the pharmacist on the High Street to build a new facility which would host a surgery and other medical services.
"However, this has not been included in the options."
She added: "The two options presented – for the surgery to remain in Brierley Hill and a main service provided in Brierley Hill with some services provided in venues around Pensnett suggests there is no new money from government for this."
Pensnett has lost its post office, library, housing office and a secondary school despite the population growing.
"Over the years, Pensnett has lost it’s own Post Office, own Library, own secondary school, own Housing Office and now this," she continued.
"Why can’t we have a new facility in Pensnett instead of one of the 40 hospitals Boris Johnson promised or a levelling up bid for a new facility? There is a lot of levelling up to be done in Pensnett as it has significant health challenges compared to other parts of the borough."
Councillor Foster added: "Overall I am really disappointed for patients of High Oak but also for the growing population of Pensnett . I stand by the vision that local people have for a state-of-the-art facility and I will carry on fighting for one."
Councillor Foster is trying to secure a venue in Pensnett for a public meeting about the future provision of GP services in the ward.
