Paediatric GP Service for Broomgrove
Independent councillor for Baird, MIKE TURNER, highlights the new child-focused health provision in Broomgrove and the need for a greater investment
Dr Fox with Cllrs Batsford and Turner at Broomgrove
Baird Ward has statistically the highest levels of deprivation in the whole of East Sussex. Absolute child poverty in Broomgrove and Linley Drive has continued to rise sharply over the last decade. As we know, people living in deprivation invariably suffer poor physical and mental health. To compound the situation, Baird ward has never had a GP Surgery.
Throughout my tenure as its ward councillor I have persistently lobbied the former Hastings and Rother Clinical Commissioning Group(CCG) along with senior individuals and NHS providers across the county to establish a GP practice in Baird, but to no avail. Despite this, I continued to fight on, enlisting the support of Cllr Andy Batsford when he became Hastings Borough Council’s portfolio holder for Health.
After a decade of lobbying there was still no progress on the Medical Centre that was supposed to have been built on the land in Ore Valley Road. Cllr Batsford and I therefore considered alternative premises and focused on Broomgrove, where there is the greatest need for health provision and which has been benefiting from a ring-fenced £1million prosperity fund.
We were fortunate in finding a sympathetic GP, Dr David Fox, who acknowledged the health problems among young people in Broomgrove, especially children, and was willing to work with us to find suitable premises in which to deliver paediatric services.
This service is now up and running twice a week in the Childrens Centre in Chiltern Drive.
Dr Fox said: “Local practices who are under daily pressure recognise a need to find time to proactively see children who otherwise would not routinely access their practice. We can also include smoking and housing support, when needed, under one roof. The aim is improve asthma control for those diagnosed plus find new cases based on previous records.
“We hope this targeted activity for respiratory conditions in children can become a long-term way of working and potentially in other areas of the town. The team aim to take referrals from the local school and pharmacy. Patients can also be referred in from their own practice. The need to target children with the worst asthma control before winter is important.”
I have spoken to many parents who are full of praise for this initiative and have found it to be very helpful in diagnosing and treating their children with conditions such as asthma and other paediatric problems.
But this can only be the first step of providing full time GP and primary healthcare services in this part of Hastings. There is a historical lack of investment, imagination and willingness by the NHS to move resources, staff and hard cash into Baird ward, and that has resulted in generations of poor health, the highest A+E attendance numbers and a miserable mortality rate. This can’t be allowed to continue.
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