Liberal Democrat Councillor calls for better health care for Wootton residents

Newly elected Liberal Democrat Councillor for Wootton and Kempston Rural Councillor Sue Abood has written to the Integrated Care Board calling for them to invest in health services in the area. The modular portacabin medical centre in Wootton was installed as a temporary measure in 2006 – 17 years ago! This comes as part of a campaign from the Liberal Democrats calling for a fair deal on health for Bedford Borough residents, including a Borough-wide and a local Wootton petition with over 1,000 and 200 signatures respectively.

Councillor Abood said “Every resident I have spoken to over the last 5 months has cited the GP surgery as one of their top two issues in the local area. The staff at the surgery are generally praised by my constituents as hard working and friendly, but there is an issue with the number of GPs at the surgery and the availability of appointments.”

Wootton has expanded by around 1,500 households in the last 10 years and the medical provision has done little to keep up with the pressure caused by these new residents on primary care in the locality.

Councillor Abood continued “Wootton is one of the largest villages in Bedford Borough and the existing GP Surgery can no longer efficiently support the growing population. There is an acute need for a medical centre/hub, not just a GP surgery, where patients can be seen by a variety of medical professionals all under one roof as is the case in other areas of Bedfordshire. The NHS withdrawing the funding to build the surgery which has been mooted for many years now is seen as a snub to the residents of Wootton and the surrounding area.”

Councillor Dean Crofts, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Health, said “As part of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee at the Council, Councillor Abood and I are calling for an inquiry into GP places within the Borough and this must include the issue with the lack of services and capacity available in Wootton currently.”