We have just received through the post four separate envelopes, each containing three pages (printed on each side at least) about “the development of a New Health Centre” in town. I’ve yet to work out what is wrong with the two doctors’ surgeries that they are planning to replace, but apparently they are not sufficient to need. The suggested alternative last time was out of town and practically inaccessible. Following comments from patients, they’ve given up on that idea, and now they’ve got one place way out of town at a sports club, and another in the centre of town, handily located near the bus station.
I can’t believe that they are considering building something that has as its major positive point “extensive free parking”. Surely it’s a nobrainer to go for the building they already own, that is easily accessible by public transport or on foot? And if there’s not much parking there, so much the better, it might encourage ppl to seek alternatives as they need to be doing.
What I think would be ideal would be if they spread the doctors’ surgery buildings further apart, making it more likely that more ppl could access them by foot, but no, they are more interested in one big building that everyone has to travel further to, that they can put many more services into.
To follow up on the waste of money that is sending a consultation form to a five and nine year old (well, OK, I suppose they were addressed to the parent/ guardian, but I’m still failing to see why we need four separate copies) why couldn’t they just count the members of the household, send one copy of the information and four copies of the reply slip, all in one envelope? This has nothing to do with patient confidentiality or anything else. Each of these envelopes has been posted at a rate of 34p – so that’s £1.36 just on postage, never mind four envelopes and four copies of bits of paper just to this house. How many ppl will be registered to each of those surgeries? I’m guessing thousands. And how many will bother to reply? It’ll be a vanishingly small percentage.
Grr. Rant, rave.
Oh, and how come the old swimming pool site hasn’t been suggested? It has a (small but reasonable) carpark, is fairly near to the centre of town, will be just off several bus routes, and is not due to be redeveloped as a swimming pool for reasons I don’t quite understand. Hm.
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