UPDATE ON ST LUKE’S MEDICAL CENTRE
At the end of September St Luke’s Medical Centre in Stroud will cease operation as a NHS Practice. It has been operating under the NHS for 67 years. This comes in the context of the current crisis in the NHS and the closure of NHS practices all over the country. A letter has gone out to all the 3000+ patients of St Luke’s informing them of the closure and advising them to register with another General Practice in the area.
With the imminent retirement of Drs Evans and Pride, the continuation of the Centre as a NHS practice depended on finding at least two other GPs willing to take it on, and a search for suitable doctors has been under way for well over a year. The Gloucester Clinical Commissioning Group (GCCG) has supported the process but, in spite of every effort, no suitable GP has been found.
Over the last 10 years or so successive changes in GP funding have put St Luke’s at a disadvantage. NHS funding is increasingly linked to targets in disease management and shrinking appointment times and this has had the effect of creating a penalty for listening and respecting patient choices and giving them meaningful consultation time.
So we have to accept the tragic closure of one of the few anthroposophically based NHS medical practices in this country and the possible loss of a beautiful building in the heart of Stroud, which is now up for lease.
Faced with this situation, a small group of doctors, therapists and interested parties met on July 2 and the resolve was made to find some way of continuing the medical and therapeutic work outside the NHS. Our plan is to present to the Trustees of St Luke’s a viable scheme to take over the lease of the building. Rooms in the building will be hired out to anthroposophical doctors and therapists but it is not anticipated that this will by itself generate enough income for the rent and other expenses. Naturally other holistic and ‘alternative’ therapists and practitioners in the area have expressed an interest in renting rooms in the future St Luke’s and we welcome this.
The building would in addition be eminently suitable to contain a major Weleda outlet and a café, and it could also act as a centre of anthroposophical activity in the area. All these possibilities are being explored.
An additional challenge, and one which is both timely and important, is to solve the problem of community funding. To develop a future funding model whereby patients are not deterred from seeking medical and therapeutic services on account of cost. We have shared many ideas, and there will be other good ideas which we have not shared because we have not thought of them!
There have been articles and letters in the local press, mostly supportive, and a web site is under construction. Interest and support has come from other enterprises both in the area and outside. I would particularly like to acknowledge the great support we are receiving from individuals involved with the Patients and Friends of Anthroposophical Medicine (PAFAM), The Calyx Trust and The Elysia Therapeutic Centre in the West Midlands.
Every effort will be made to achieve our aim because the therapy centre is needed in Stroud and the opportunity for furthering anthroposophical ideals is too good to miss. As well as the voluntary work which still needs to be done, there will soon be legal and other professional fees to pay so we are also actively fundraising. If you can contribute in any way our bank account is:
Stroud Integrative Healthcare Community
Cooperative Bank
Account Number: 65731958
Sort Code: 08-92-99
Reference: St Luke’s
Your good thoughts, your good ideas, your love as well as your money are all welcome!
Correspondence and further information from stluketherapy@gmail.com
There will be a meeting of interested parties and an update on progress at St Luke’s on Thursday 3rd September at 7.30pm, and on Saturday 26 September at 3pm there will be a celebration of 67 years of anthroposophical medicine within the NHS at St Luke’s.
Jonathan Swann