GP petition goes to parliament

The GP practice at the city centre facility, which has more than 3,500 registered patients, is under threat of closure.

It emerged that NHS Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was consulting on whether to try to extend the GP service beyond March, last October.

Wakefield MP Mary Creagh launched a petition to save the surgery as well as the walk-in centre housed in the same building, which is also being separately reviewed and could close in September.

She submitted the 2,000 strong petition as part of the GP consultation, which closed on December 30.

And this week, she took the campaign to parliament by presenting the petition in the House of Commons.

She said: “With local GP and Pinderfields A&E services under pressure, King Street Health Centre is a vital service and I’m delighted that so many residents got involved with this campaign.

“With Pinderfields A&E directing patients to King Street Health Centre over winter, we can’t afford to lose this valued local service.

“I’ve called on the government and Wakefield CCG to take all necessary steps to ensure that King Street Health Centre remains open.”

The CCG said the contract to run the GP surgery was time limited and is due to come to an end on March 31.

It said people’s views would be considered as part of the decision process.