10/07/2025
📍 Why We Are No Longer Using the Rooms at Woodford Memorial Hall
We wanted to take a moment to explain why Byfield Medical Centre is no longer using the NHS-rented rooms at Woodford Memorial Hall, given the misinformation circulating online.
Everyone is aware that space is at a premium in the Byfield location, and so we have been striving for many years to find ways to bring the Woodford space back into practical use, the barriers so far have been insurmountable, but it is not for the lack of intent, regardless of what less-informed speculation is being shared.
Attached are photographs of the space, which require significant investment to bring it up to a clinical level of 'fit for purpose' - this is not a matter of opinion, but of NHS guidelines to which we must adhere. Regardless of history and intent, it currently lacks the basic infrastructure needed to deliver safe and effective modern healthcare. A Doctors surgery by its nature experiences crises and emergencies regularly - the environment, equipment, safety and security must all be up to par to provide any service to you, whilst ensuring our staff are safe and being as productive with their precious time as possible.
⚠️ Key issues include:
• No telephone line installed – medical staff are forced to rely on mobile phones, and signal in the area is often poor. Dangerous situations can and did occur, we had a clinical incident, the doctor had no phone signal and had to leave the patient whilst he used a landline in the village. Likewise verbal and physical attacks on staff do happen and without the appropriate staff safeguards in place we cannot put our staff at risk.
• No NHS-standard IT infrastructure – the cost to upgrade and equip the rooms would fall to the NHS.
• Poor physical environment – the room is dated and does not meet clinical standards.
• Additional concerns raised about the space also impact on the patient experience - soundproofing, etc. - which would require significant investment to rectify.
Funding
We have explored the possibility of upgrading the space using Section 106 money from the Taylor Wimpey development. However, we are bound by onerous contractor rules and the costs involved from them far exceeded the funding available, and there is no additional NHS capital funding to support the improvements required. The space in the Memorial Hall is leased by NHS Property Services, not Byfield Medical Centre, when we knew the Section 106 money would not allow us to upgrade the rooms we did ask that NHS Property Services look at a way of breaking the lease unfortunately this did not happen.
Had we been able to make the necessary changes, this is how the space would have been used :
✅ Enable our physiotherapist to work in Woodford instead of Greens Norton
✅ Provide a private, local space for our Social Prescriber to meet clients face to face
✅ Offer a base for our Clinical Pharmacist to support patients in the community
We know how important it is to have access to services locally, and we will continue to look for opportunities to improve the way we deliver care to our patients. Unfortunately, the current space at the Memorial Hall simply does not allow us to do that safely or effectively.
Thank you for your understanding.
Dr Harvey and Dr Nawaz, Partners
