Call for Eastbourne walk-in centre consultation plans to be put on hold

There are calls for the consultation into the closure of the Eastbourne station walk-in centre to be put on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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East Sussex Save the NHS has put out an ‘urgent request’ for healthcare bosses to rethink plans to close the service.

A spokesperson for the group said, “We are calling for a rapid change in policy to ensure we keep our NHS walk-in centre at Eastbourne.

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“All NHS services are going to be even more overstretched than normal because of this current pandemic. Now is seriously not the time to be closing any services at all.”

East Sussex Save the NHS is campaigning to keep the station walk-in centreEast Sussex Save the NHS is campaigning to keep the station walk-in centre
East Sussex Save the NHS is campaigning to keep the station walk-in centre

East Sussex Save the NHS says it has written to Eastbourne, Hailsham, and Seaford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and requested the public consultation into the closure is put on hold ‘until this crisis is over’.

The statement continues, “The people of Eastbourne need to know that whatever happens they will have access to a GP when it is needed particularly at this time.

“This whole crisis has reinforced the message that health matters more than anything else.”

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East Sussex Save the NHS Campaign has cancelled all future events and meetings until further notice.

Earlier this week the CCG said it would be pausing all face-to-face events it had planned as part of the consultation.

However, it said it is currently reviewing whether it needs to postpone the consultation altogether, and would provide an update as soon as possible.

People can still take part in the consultation online at www.eastbournehailshamseafordccg.nhs.uk.

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You can also call 01273 403687 or email [email protected] to request a copy of the consultation document and questionnaire.

The CCG says all the feedback received so far will be retained and considered before a final decision is made, regardless of whether it has to postpone the consultation and re-start it later this year.

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