On behalf of Copmanthorpe Parish Council
It is with great sadness that I need to inform you that Diane Stones (Greenwell) passed away suddenly on Thursday 30th July.
Diane has been the Clerk to the Parish Council for as many years as I can remember and she brought a wealth of knowledge and experience that we will never be able to replace. She was a dear friend and a cornerstone of our Community and she will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
Our thoughts and prayers are with her husband Chris, and her immediate family during this impossibly difficult time.
Rest in Peace Diane, things will not be the same without you.
Latest News:
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Front Street Surgery
Summary of the latest announcement from Sarah Gowers Operational Practice Manager in an email to Chis Steward, Ward Councillor, and to the Parish Council.
Thank you for your patience whilst we investigated the possible use of the Askham Bar Site for GP clinics on closure of the Copmanthorpe branch.
I have just met with the Primary Care Manager for the ICB who attended the Patient Engagement Meeting at Howell Hall. We have been in discussions with the hospital trust who currently hold the licence for Askham Bar.
I can confirm that after extensive discussions and site visits, unfortunately Askham Bar is not financially or logistically feasible for the use of primary care. We have considered all options and to see if there was a way to make this work, however:
- The rooms are not configured for general practice. (They are simply supplied with a desk, PC and wash-hand basin.)
- The IT system is owned by the trust and is not supported by our IT provider. Our staff would need separate log ins to access the trust systems and there is no certainty this would be granted.
- There are issues around the phone system, we would need to instal software on to the trust Pcs and there is a query around GDPR.
- The site is not CQC registered for Primary Care use.
- There is not the required emergency equipment available.
- Stock & consumables are very limited on site.
- There is also uncertainly around the longevity of the trust using the site, which as you stated is council owned.
We have agreed that we will not be taking this further. We plan to run all our clinical appointments from our main branch in Acomb, where all our staff, services and systems are under one roof. When we start to reconfigure the main branch, which is funding dependant, we will look to lease rooms at Acomb Garth, for non- clinical staff, prioritising our clinical rooms in the main branch.
The ICB following the above investigation and decision, have now submitted our application to close the Copmanthorpe branch. Once we are informed of the final decision, we will contact all patients either via text message or letter with an update.
I hope that explains how we have investigated this option, where we are at and the next steps, but if you have any further questions, please get in touch.
Next Parish Council Meeting – 11th August:
- The next Parish Council meeting will take place on Tuesday 11th August from 7:30pm in Howell Hall
- There will be an interim meeting of the Planning committee on Tuesday 21st August if required