Premises

Our current building is a fully-extended and converted residential house, in a conservation area, designated as a Building of Townscape Merit, which we’ve been in since the 1970s.

It should house 3,380 patients. As of February 2017, we look after just over 13,100 patients here, and this:

• puts huge pressure on space
• limits telephone and appointment access
• means the building is not compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act, as those of you who’ve had to get wheelchairs or buggies into it will understand
• means we cannot cope with increases in demand for appointments, due to winter pressures or flu outbreaks
• means we cannot offer additional services
• means we cannot safely continue to take on new patients as we have no physical space in which to see the

In addition, the building is owned by two partners who have now retired, and the current NHS rent would not cover the mortgage payments if we were to buy it from them.

Accordingly, we’ve looked at multiple options over the last 15 years, none of which have been successful. You can read more about the history in the premises section of the practice news feed.