When the announcement was made that one of Bradford’s longest running medical surgeries was at threat of closure, the local community came together in protest of the news.
This week, after much campaigning and lobbying from MPs, the decision to close Manningham Medical Practice by the by NHS Bradford City Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has been reversed.
The practice, which is located on Lumb Lane, serves around 3,600 patients living in BD1, BD8 and BD9 areas of Bradford and had been earmarked for closure on 30th September 2016.
The new decision was made at a joint meeting of Bradford City and Bradford Districts CCGs’ primary care commissioning committees (PCCCs).
Patients from the practice’s patient participation group also made a strong case to the CCG, saying that patients wanted local, high quality services to improve their health and wellbeing.
Amongst the lead co-ordinators for the practice campaigners was Jitendra Gupta – whose late sister, Urmila Gupta, opened the surgery in the early 1970s.
Speaking about the reversed decision, Mr Gupta said: “It’s great news.
“People were suffering because they didn’t know what was going to happen with the uncertainty of the surgery. Now people are celebrating the news.
“We will be having some sort of celebration party in the surgery next week to give our thanks to their support.”
Fazlul Haq, chair of the Manningham Housing Association, was also a strong advocate supporting the surgeries campaign to stay open and he described what the place meant to the local community.
“It is a lifeline for Manningham,” he said. “If the surgery closed, the body of Manningham would have remained but the heart would have gone.
“To hear that the decision to close it has been reversed means common sense has prevailed and it is a victory for the people.”
He added: “We have a united community now. We have stood together for this cause and we thank Naz Shah for her support. She is the people’s MP.”
The meeting of the CCGs allowed the groups an opportunity to reflect together on the potential outcomes of their individual strategies for primary care in the Manningham area, as well as the capacity and resourcing of neighbouring practices to register additional patients.
It was here that parties agreed that Bradford City CCG’s previous decision should be reversed to allow the re-procurement of primary care services in the Manningham area to commence.
In the meantime, the existing contract with Local Care Direct will be extended until 30th April 2017.
Max Mclean, the CCG’s lay member for patient and public involvement, said: “I am pleased that we have had the opportunity to bring our two local CCGs together to re-consider local people’s needs in the context of the wider Manningham area.
“Our decision to re-procure primary care in the Manningham area provides the opportunity to sense-check the services we buy; to ensure that they are high quality, clinically effective and capable of engaging successfully with their patients.”
Naz Shah, the Member of Parliament for Bradford West, was represented at the meeting.
Speaking about the decision, she said: “I am delighted that thePrimary Care Commissioning Committee has taken the bold decision to overturn a decision it had already taken.
“I welcome and applaud the decision to re-procure primary care services in the Manningham area and look forward to continue engagement with strategic partners to ensure that Bradford West constituency receives the best possible and appropriate services to meet the needs of a diverse and growing population.”
