Uncertainty for patients as company behind Norwich walk-in and GP practices collapses
OneNorwich says it 'cannot remain financially and operationally sustainable'
There's uncertainty for NHS patients in Norwich after the company behind the city's walk-in centre and several other health services announced it was shutting down.
OneNorwich Practices says it 'cannot remain financially and operationally sustainable' and so it will hand its services off to other providers.
The firm also runs the Norwich Practices Health Centre, as well as the Vulnerable Adults Service and Asthma in Schools project.
It's not yet known what it will mean for staff or for patients who use OneNorwich services.
Norwich's Rouen Road Walk-In was saved from closure earlier this year, after widespread objections to a plan to shutter the service.
Paul Wood, Interim Chief Executive of OneNorwich Practices said: “It is with great sadness that we have come to the difficult conclusion that OneNorwich Practices cannot remain financially and operationally sustainable beyond 2023.
“We have commissioned Poppleton and Appleby to work with us to close down the business in the most efficient way.
"We will also be working very closely with NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB to ensure an orderly transition and we will assist in the development of service transfer plans to safeguard services and transfer over as many OneNorwich Practices staff as possible to the new provider or providers once these are identified.
“We will not be making any statutory redundancies until we know the outcome of the service transfer plans work. We will be commencing a statutory 45-day consultation period and staff will be given support on talking thorough the options available to them.
“On behalf of the Board and OneNorwich Practices management team I would like to thank all our staff for their continued dedication and support in providing care to our patients during this challenging time.”
Tracey Bleakley, Chief Executive of NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB, said: “I would like to recognise the extensive work undertaken by the OneNorwich Practices executive team and Board to mitigate the impact of its financial difficulties on its patients and staff, who have continued to provide high quality care to their patients during this very difficult time.
“We are naturally disappointed that this decision has had to be made. Our priority now is to minimise the level of disruption to patient services and ensure that patients are able to receive the care they need.
“We have been and will continue to work closely with colleagues across the Norwich Primary Care Network and OneNorwich Practices to continue to provide patient services through the transition period, whilst also securing alternative providers to take on the full suite of services that they were contracted to deliver.”