Axing new GP surgery a 'nightmare' for residents

Residents have branded a decision to no longer build a long awaited multimillion-pound doctors' surgery in Ipswich a "nightmare" and "ridiculous".

Proposals to develop the state-of-the-art GP practice at the former Tooks Bakery site in the north-west of the town were given the green light last year.

Funded by the NHS and project-managed by Ipswich Borough Council, work on the health complex was meant to get under way this year, with the aim of it being opened in 2025.

The £7.75m surgery, however, has been scrapped because it has "become unaffordable" due to building costs increasing "significantly over the past three years", said the NHS.

The site, off Old Norwich Road, would have boasted 29 clinic rooms, 11 nurse rooms and a minor operating suite, and replaced surgeries on Deben Road and Chesterfield Drive.

Would-be patients hoped the development would have alleviated the strain on health services and made it easier to book appointments.

Jean McSorley, 77, said: "I am very disappointed and I find it so annoying because they find money for other things, and to me primary healthcare should be a priority.

"I don't know where they think we are going to go now, but north-west Ipswich does seem to be a forgotten area and I feel they tend to prioritise the posh areas.

"Hopefully people will make enough noise and stamp their feet, and maybe somebody will have a rethink and money might fall from the sky."

Sarah Briggs, 48, said: "Given the amount of houses they are building, we need more doctors.

"It's a nightmare and ridiculous - they need to build the surgery because you can't get an appointment for love nor money. You are looking at four to five weeks, which is stupid."

Meanwhile, Natalie Braine, 49, had hoped the new surgery would make it easier to secure appointments for her young children.

"From a personal point of view, I have two children who are autistic, and it would have been handy to have a nice close surgery nearby to help," she said.

"We need more doctors in the area because the waiting list to see one is ridiculously high and a nightmare when you are trying to ring up for an appointment."

A joint statement by NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board and Ipswich Borough Council said: "We are deeply disappointed.

"[But the project] has now become unaffordable for the NHS, with costs having increased significantly over the past three years.

"We remain determined to find an alternative, affordable solution that will deliver improved primary care facilities in north-west Ipswich."

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