Wixams residents told GP surgery "is not going to happen" unless government provides funding

That was the message from councillor Dean Crofts during last night’s (Wednesday, November 27) Bedford Borough Full Council Meeting.

The Lib Dem councillor for Kingsbrook was speaking after a question on the surgery from councillor Marc Frost (Conservative, Wixams and Wilstead).

Councillor Frost had asked the council’s portfolio holder for neighbourhoods and communities: health and wellbeing, councillor Martin Towler, if the reports of a further 10 year wait for a GP surgery was “fact or scaremongering”.

Councillor Towler (Conservative, Risley) said: “The worst case scenario would be that sort of length.

“It’s going to be driven by Central [Bedfordshire Council] with our collaboration.

“We had a meeting back in February/March with the Labour MP at the time, and everybody agreed there were no bars going forward, and the money had to be found.

“We will work collaboratively with Central [Bedfordshire] to drive this project forward.”

Councillor Frost said: “In which case I would implore you to follow up with the ICB [Integrated Care Board] and CBC [Central Bedfordshire Council] because everybody seems to be blaming each other.

“With all these new planning applications coming through we cannot continue without a GP practice in that area,” he said.

Councillor Crofts said the council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee had been looking at this for “many years”.

“The ICB has repeatedly told the committee that they have not prioritised it because they do not have the revenue funding to pay the rental for a surgery in Wixams,” he said.

“So, it’s great that this council has put money towards this from the section 106 funding to get the Wixams surgery on the table in terms of a discussion.

“But until we can get central government on board, I’m sorry Wixams residents, it’s not going to happen.

“So I urge central government to put that money into infrastructure, especially for GP surgeries where we need them.

“We’ve all got to call on central government to get the funding in there so these surgeries can happen not in 10 years, but in the next 12 or 24 months,” he said.