NHS: Walk-in Centres

Lord Mawhinney Excerpts

Tuesday 10th December 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I would not deny for a second that walk-in centres had a role in many places, and indeed the fact that so many are still open is proof of that. However, it is a mixed picture. Those centres that have closed are in many cases ones where doctors locally have perceived that, in one form or another, there is adequate provision for patients, whether through pharmacies, GP surgeries or community services of a different kind.

[Lord Mawhinney (Con)]

My Lords, how many proposals for walk-in centre closures have been advanced to public consultation over the past three years and then have not been proceeded with as a consequence of the consultation?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I cannot give my noble friend the answer because that is not information that we collect in the department but, as I said earlier to the noble Baroness, Lady Wheeler, we expect consultation to take place in local areas so that patients and the public at least have a chance to voice their views.