Local MP Alan Mak has visited Emsworth Medical Practice to see how it operates and thank staff as the team look ahead to the building’s third anniversary this year.
Mr Mak opened the new surgery building in autumn 2021 on the site of the redeveloped former Emsworth Victoria Cottage Hospital in North Street. Today the Practice team are demonstrating what can be achieved in a large, modern space with purpose-built facilities.
Eleven GPs, two registrars, a training doctor, two advanced nurse practitioners, five nurses and two phlebotomists care for a patient list that has grown to 14,800, reflecting the popularity of the new surgery.
Members of reception handle calls from up to 600 people a day who want to book appointments. Meanwhile up on the top floor, the admin and secretarial teams deal with a variety of other tasks and enquiries.
The environment in which they work is an enormous contrast to the old, cramped surgery in a Georgian house across the road.
The building was no longer fit for purpose because the surgery had outgrown the space and it couldn't offer the range of primary care services that doctors wanted to provide.
GP partner Dr Abu Chinwala explained: "We were bursting at the seams and moving here was a massive change. Even now, patients come in and say that it's like being in a private hospital."
Fellow GP partner Dr Hannah Morgan added: "When people come here they can be stressed and worried and having a calm atmosphere is important."
Paintings by local artists line the clean white walls. They are managed by the surgery's Patient Participation Group (PPG) led by chairman Jim Strudwick, a retired haematologist.
Jim said: "The old surgery was too small. Staff were hot desking, but here there is plenty of space. We are the envy of a lot of practices. They are amazed when they find out what we do here."
Dr Morgan said: "It's an amazing asset and I know that patients truly appreciate it."
There's even a SurgeryPod where no appointment or assistance is needed and people check their own blood pressure and weight, with the information saved to their patient records.
Operations manager Sally Prior, who has worked for the surgery for 18 years, said: "It's a great place to work. Patient care is our number one priority and providing that is a massive team effort. In terms of staff numbers, we have doubled in size from the old building."
Dr Chinwala added: "NHS funding has given us the ability to grow our team and now we have the space to accommodate them.
"Now patients have not just GPs as providers of care, but others who can provide what's appropriate to their needs."
The surgery also welcomes junior doctors from medical school, who get to gain experience of primary care alongside experienced clinicians.
The former hospital building, which was decommissioned and closed down in 2013, was seen as an ideal surgery site.
Local MP Mr Mak began campaigning alongside local community and healthcare partners to deliver a new surgery building after he was first elected in 2015.
He intervened to stop the sale of the building in 2018 by NHS Property Services after they deemed the site to be surplus to requirements for medical use, and then worked closely with GP partners, the NHS and others to secure funding, steer the project and deliver the new surgery.
This included meeting the Health Secretary and Health Ministers in Westminster and successfully lobbying over a number of years for £3.5m of Government funding via NHS England, plus chairing regular local meetings in Emsworth to progress the surgery.
Mr Mak also successfully secured an agreement to extend the deadline for NHS funds to be used when this was needed to keep the project alive.
Contractors Mountjoy started on site in January 2020 for what was expected to be a 12-month build. But the Covid-19 pandemic led to delays caused in part by a shortage of building materials and the need for contractors to socially distance whilst working.
Changes included demolishing single-storey outbuildings, providing a new rear single-storey extension, installing a new lift shaft, roofing and canopy construction, a complete reconfiguration of rooms and extensive internal and external decorations.
Since Mr Mak officially opened the new surgery in October 2021, it has quickly become established and the team are confident it will enable them to continue to provide a high level of patient care for decades to come.
Mr Mak said: "After working for six years to deliver the new surgery, I was delighted when Government funding enabled it to happen, turning dreams into reality.
"It has proved to be a great asset for Emsworth and its residents, who are rightly proud of their surgery and benefit from the improved healthcare it now offers.
"It was a pleasure to visit the surgery again more than two years on from opening it. I enjoyed seeing how it operates, the variety of services it offers and the dedication of the team who work there – they are all doing a brilliant job!"
Emsworth Medical Practice statistics
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Number of listed patients - 14,800
Number of calls for appointments per day - up to 600
Number of appointments booked in December 2023 - 7,255
Number of patients seen face-to-face - 74 per cent (December 2023)
Average time from booking to being seen - 7.4 days (December 2023)
Average time spent in waiting room - 2 minutes (December 2023)
