Oak Park Community Clinic
(4 days, 6 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)
On behalf of Havant residents and NHS patients, I welcome this opportunity to raise urgently in Parliament the sudden and distressing removal of diagnostic services at Oak Park clinic in Havant.
Oak Park is a vital community asset that has long played an important role in local healthcare provision, providing a range of services including therapies, out-patient clinics and diagnostic checks. For residents, the clinic represents local, familiar and accessible care, particularly for sick, elderly and vulnerable people who struggle to travel. Some of the services remain, but the loss of diagnostics is a huge concern for my constituents in Havant, Langstone, Bedhampton, Emsworth, Hayling Island, Leigh Park, Purbrook, Stakes and Widley.
The withdrawal of diagnostic services at Oak Park took place suddenly, immediately before Christmas and came with no warning. In fact, there was no consultation with patients, local GPs, community groups or care providers. The local reaction to this removal of services has been both outrage and fear. This is the time of year when the NHS and its patients feel the most pressure; frankly, the timing of the withdrawal could not have been worse. My thoughts are also with the staff who provided diagnostic services at Oak Park, who, I understand, received only a month’s notice themselves that this work would be ending.
I was not notified before or even immediately after the withdrawal of services by any of the local NHS bodies or service providers. In particular, I heard nothing from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight integrated care board, which commissions and oversees the services at Oak Park. In fact, the first contact I had from the ICB was yesterday morning, once this debate had been confirmed. I now look forward to learning from the ICB how it intends to replace the services lost at Oak Park. I welcome the commitment it gave me yesterday to provide what it calls “a strong neighbourhood model” for delivering diagnostics services to my constituency. I hope it delivers on that commitment, and I would welcome the Minister’s support in holding the ICB accountable for delivering it.
The ICB has told me that the decision to end diagnostic services at Oak Park was taken by the NHS provider; that it was not an ICB decision. The general failure to communicate with people affected by the closure has caused widespread confusion, anger and fear. It is disappointing that, nearly two months on from the removal of diagnostic services at Oak Park, there is still no clear information in the public domain about the background behind the removal, no agreement about a way forward, and no news about whether temporary provision, for example through a mobile diagnostic unit, is feasible.
The importance of diagnostic provision in Havant cannot be overstated. Havant War Memorial hospital closed in September 2011 and, at the time, local people were assured that replacement facilities would maintain accessible healthcare in the community. It was Oak Park Community Clinic that provided the reassurance that healthcare would indeed remain close to home. The message from residents, patients, GPs and the whole community is clear: diagnostic services must be restored locally by the NHS and the ICB to a central location in the Havant constituency—either at Oak Park or at another suitable site. In the meantime, there must be interim provision in the constituency—for example, via a mobile unit or temporary facilities. Local people deserve nothing less, and my campaign to get the Government, the ICB and the NHS to deliver will continue.
As the Minister knows, diagnostics are the gateway to treatment. Oak Park offered X-ray, ultrasound and echocardiogram services. These are basic but vital services that inform clinicians quickly about the health of a patient, and allow them to decide what further tests or treatment are necessary. If these checks are delayed or unavailable, the consequences for patients can be appalling, slowing their access to treatment or even cutting it off altogether. The cumulative effect is to increase referrals into already pressured acute settings, such as the Queen Alexandra hospital in Portsmouth, and to undermine the cohesion of local NHS services.
The alternative to the facilities at Oak Park is to divert my constituents to St Mary’s community health campus in Portsmouth. This is hugely inconvenient for them, because travel into Portsmouth from communities in the Havant constituency is difficult at the best of times. St Mary’s is located on Portsea Island in the city, and there are only three roads on and off the island. The road most likely to be used by people travelling from my constituency—the Eastern Road—has been closed in one direction for several weeks for sewer repair works. It will remain closed until next month at the earliest. Traffic disruption has been appalling for anybody travelling to Portsmouth on any route, and my constituents tell me that they have been affected when travelling to and from St Mary’s
Setting aside the temporary issues caused by the closure of the Eastern Road, St Mary’s is, in any event, poorly served by public transport from any of the communities in the constituency: there is no direct bus link between my constituency and the campus; St Mary’s is more than a mile and a half from the nearest railway station; and there is no bus service from the railway station to the campus.
Residents from Hayling Island in my constituency who have to go to St Mary’s instead of Oak Park face an especially arduous journey, consisting of a minimum of three bus journeys, taking at least an hour and a half in each direction. During peak periods, given the terrible traffic conditions in Portsmouth, this is likely to take much longer and risks appointments being missed.
Madam Deputy Speaker, you will not be surprised to hear that I have been contacted by GP surgeries in my constituency expressing in the strongest terms their dismay at the Oak Park situation. The Elms Practice on Hayling Island has highlighted the length and difficulty of the journey to St Mary’s, as well as the additional cost of the longer journey, which many patients simply cannot absorb. The practice highlights the risk of missed appointments and diagnoses, particularly for patients with chronic conditions. The additional stress of the longer journey for patients with already limited mobility or who are living with disabilities is intolerable.
I have heard similar concerns from the Homewell Curlew GP practice in Havant, close to the Oak Park site, whose patients now face much longer journeys. The problem was also raised with me last week in person by the manager of a care home in Havant. She told me that their patients are having to spend £50 or more on a round trip in a taxi to Portsmouth. This is an unacceptable state of affairs.
This is not just an issue for my constituents; the additional burden of more patients arriving at St Mary’s will affect people living in neighbouring constituencies who would normally use St Mary’s for diagnostic checks. The loss of capacity at Oak Park is having a considerable regional impact, and it appears the sudden withdrawal of services is not an isolated example.
My right hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes) cannot speak in this debate as she also serves as Deputy Speaker, but we have discussed the loss of phlebotomy services from Romsey hospital because of a decision by the ICB. I understand that my right hon. Friend’s constituents now have to travel to Southampton or even Lymington for appointments. My right hon. Friend has characteristically spoken up for her constituents very effectively, and I know that she will continue to do so.
On wider NHS engagement, I have a good relationship with all my local NHS bodies, and I want to continue that constructive approach to improve patient outcomes. The loss of these services at Oak Park came shortly after I had a positive meeting with the new chair of Portsmouth hospitals university NHS trust, which manages Queen Alexandra hospital in Portsmouth—the general hospital that serves my constituency and people across much of south-east Hampshire. We had a good discussion about the importance of local provision of basic services. While the trust does not manage the Oak Park facility, when things go wrong with diagnosis, it is on Queen Alexandra hospital in Portsmouth that the burden mostly falls.
I successfully lobbied the previous Conservative Government to secure funding for the new emergency department at Queen Alexandra hospital, which serves my constituency. However, it is already clear that even with a new emergency department, the hospital is facing capacity challenges. Anything that gets patients into the right care pathway the first time, at the earliest opportunity, helps to ease that pressure, and diagnostic services play a key part in that. The public see the NHS as a monolithic structure, and when things go wrong in one part, as has happened with Oak Park, constituents can find it confusing and disempowering. The NHS and the ICB must put that right.
Following this debate, I hope that as well as securing the return of diagnostic facilities, we can have a broader conversation about wider health provision for my constituents. An urgent treatment centre in the constituency would further ease the pressure on both QA hospital and St Mary’s hospital.
I have always been clear that empowering patients helps them to lead healthier, longer lives, whether that is through digital transformation or being able to access basic timely care locally and in a convenient way. For that reason, I successfully campaigned for the Emsworth Victoria Cottage hospital’s building to be retained by the NHS, so that it could become the new home for the Emsworth medical practice, which is now a superb resource for all its patients. We all lead busy lives, and proximity to high-quality local healthcare services is vital. I know that the GP practices on Hayling Island need better facilities, and I have been working with them, the ICB and other NHS bodies to bring that about. But first we have to fix the Oak Park issue and bring those diagnostic services back.
In closing, I have three requests for the Minister. First, will he commit the NHS to restoring diagnostic services to a permanent setting as quickly as possible in the Havant constituency, whether at Oak Park or another site? Secondly, while the permanent restoration process continues, will he support the provision of temporary diagnostic services in the Havant constituency, for example through a mobile unit or at a temporary site? Thirdly, will he meet me to discuss how the ICB and NHS bodies can move quickly to restore these diagnostic services in Havant and learn lessons from the Oak Park situation?
I want to thank the hard-working NHS staff who provide such fantastic support for my constituents all year round. I call on the Minister to ensure that my constituents have their access to local diagnostic services in the Havant constituency restored as quickly as possible.
The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)
I note that the policy lead for this area is the Minister for Secondary Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol South (Karin Smyth). She is unable to be here today and sends her apologies, but I will report back to her and am sure that she will be more than happy to accept the request for a meeting to have further discussions.
I congratulate the hon. Member for Havant (Alan Mak) on securing this debate on the provision of diagnostic services in Havant, specifically at Oak Park community clinic. This matter is very important to his constituents, and it resonates more broadly in communities right across our country.
Diagnostic services are a critical part of our NHS. They are crucial for helping patients to get peace of mind about their symptoms or clarity on the next stage of their care. Reducing the waiting times for diagnostic tests is critical to achieving both our elective waiting time and cancer waiting time ambitions. Prior to this debate, the Department has received correspondence from GPs working in the hon. Member’s constituency on this very issue. I therefore completely understand his concerns and those of his constituents, and I hope that I can provide a helpful update on the situation and set out the steps being taken to resolve this issue.
Until recently, a range of diagnostic services were provided at Oak Park community clinic. Services were delivered in partnership between the NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight integrated care board and an independent healthcare provider, Practice Plus Group. As the hon. Member has said, Practice Plus Group took the decision, with limited notice, to move equipment for non-obstetric ultrasound, X-ray and echocardiography away from Oak Park community clinic to St Mary’s community hospital in Portsmouth. With regard to the request to meet to discuss the circumstances of the suspension of these services at Oak Park clinic, I will ensure that a request is passed on to my colleague, the Minister for Secondary Care.
I can inform the hon. Member that the closure took place because Practice Plus Group took the view that the lease no longer represented value for money. I can fully appreciate the disruption that this is causing in the Havant area for patients who now face longer travel times and inconvenience to receive care. I am aware that the ICB has communicated with all the referring organisations affected and is working to mitigate disruption, including reviewing alternative provision to ensure continuity of diagnostic services for patients in the Havant area. In the meantime, patients can be referred to Practice Plus Group services at the St Mary’s community health campus in Portsmouth for those diagnostic tests. The Queen Alexandra hospital in Cosham is also providing diagnostic services and is of course accessible to many patients across Havant. For some, it is likely that this will be more convenient and should be offered as a location for diagnostic tests.
The hon. Member will be aware that the Oak Park community diagnostic centre is also located at the Oak Park community clinic. The non-obstetric ultrasound service at the Oak Park community clinic was, until recently, provided as part of the community diagnostic centre. X-ray and echocardiography, while provided at the same site, are separate from the CDC operations. When the community diagnostic centre was first approved, Portsmouth hospitals university NHS trust commissioned Practice Plus Group to deliver non-obstetric ultrasound activity for the centre. This arrangement would utilise Practice Plus Group’s equipment and rooms, with sonographers employed by the trust delivering the tests.
I can today confirm to the hon. Member and to the House that Portsmouth hospitals university NHS trust is preparing to recommence non-obstetric ultrasound at the Oak Park CDC this month. With financial support from NHS England’s national diagnostic programme, the trust has been able to purchase an additional scanner for this site. In the meantime, the Oak Park CDC continues to provide symptomatic mammography, ophthalmology assessment and peripheral neurophysiology assessments at the Oak Park community clinic site. The hon. Member asked about the possibility of temporary pop-up facilities to restore all services at Oak Park. I am informed that the ICB is working closely with Practice Plus Group to resolve this issue, and is looking for a solution to restore X-ray and echocardiography at the Oak Park community clinic for patients.
Community provision of diagnostic services, such as those at the Oak Park clinic, are a central plank of our plan to make the NHS fit for the future. We are committed to bringing more diagnostic services into community settings and to making healthcare more accessible to patients who might face barriers to hospital access, including those with mobility issues, caring responsibilities or limited transport options. We have committed, as part of our elective reform plan, to build up to five more CDCs as part of our £600 million capital investment for diagnostics in 2025-26.
We are also working to ensure that more CDCs are open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, to deliver more same-day tests and consultations, and an expanded range of tests. Since the Government came into office in July 2024, CDCs have delivered more than 10.9 million tests and scans. CDCs are a vital step in supporting our shift from hospital to community. They provide access to vital tests, scans and checks, closer to home, for patients with busy working lives. We are setting clear diagnostic performance expectations for NHS providers. Our medium-term planning guidance sets out the ambition for improvement in performance against the diagnostic six-week wait constitutional standard, so that, by March 2029, no more than 1% of patients wait more than six weeks from referral for a diagnostic test. We have set the interim milestone that, by March 2027, no more than 20% of patients wait over six weeks.
We recognise that significant improvements will be required in the performance of NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB. Performance is currently at 29.5%, as of November 2025, so there is clearly a long way to go. In 2025-26, NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB was allocated £49.3 million of capital funding from the constitutional standards recovery fund announced by the Chancellor at the spending review, with the aim of supporting NHS performance across secondary and emergency care, including by supporting new capacity and productivity improvements in diagnostic services. It is part of over £6 billion of additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective and urgent care capacity, to deliver the improvements to the NHS that patients need and deserve, so that the NHS is there for them when they need it.
I thank the hon. Member for securing this important debate.
Question put and agreed to.