I'm being asked to leave health centre but desperately don't want to

[WhatHo]

A bit of background: where we live (rurally) is situated in a strange position. It has the postcode of one county - let's say AA - but in all other ways it is far more another county, lets say BB.

The BB county kind of wraps round this bit of AA. We are approx 1-2 miles over the border and our house stands in a parish which has an AA postcode; our landline starts the number of the big local town where our surgery is. We are 4 miles from the surgery in this town; our nearest AA surgery is 7 miles away. I have been with this BB health centre for 40 years. (And yes we really struggle to get any restaurants to deliver to us!)

We are not heavy users of the health centre normally so not neccessarily a burden on the service. However in our current situation it is absolutely vital we continue to access the BB services. In July my DD was diagnosed with an eating disorder and placed in the care of BB CAMHS, triaged as an urgent case. It is due to the diligent care of this team that we have recovered equilibrium and she is thriving at school. Eating disorders are complex and can take years to resolve; she trusts the BB team and any move could be highly punitive to her mental health. In addition my husband is currently under the care of the BB Eye Hospital.
When we were looking for help for DD we actually contacted the AA CAHMS team; the waiting list was 4 months at minimum. They are famously overwhelmed and with eating disorders time is of the essence. I am probably over emotional about it all due to my DD, but I simply cannot face having to navigate a new CAHMS in an overwhelmed county - one which recently went bankrupt. In addition I've heard the health centres in the nearest AA town are very full so it may be hard to swap.

I am planning on writing a letter to the surgery but do I have any legal standing? Or can anyone offer any advice?

And sorry - Chat probably isn't the place for this but I couldn't figure out where!

Write to your MP outlining your very valid reason for needing to stay with this health centre,

I think you can access services across trusts so leaving BB health centre would not lose ongoing access to services associated with it. Have you written to the practice manager? Is there housing going up near BB with more patients to accommodate?

I think you can access services across trusts so leaving BB health centre would not lose ongoing access to services associated with it.

Sadly that does not apply to mental health services, although there are exceptions.

Do you have a sympathetic GP, preferably a partner at the surgery? They can make exceptions but they're not obliged to.

Write to your MP outlining your very valid reason for needing to stay with this health centre

To my MP or the neighbouring county MP do you think?

Sadly that does not apply to mental health services, although there are exceptions.

This is what I'm worried about. Unfortunately I am at one of those surgeries where they don't assign GPs and you have to be pretty determined to see a doc rather than a nurse or pharmacist. They're a good surgery but heavily use nurses. It's the same story as much of the UK - my childhood doc (who must have been in 70s) retired and was followed by a tsunami of GPs leaving. They sorted it out by amalgamating with two other surgeries.

Is there housing going up near BB with more patients to accommodate? It's a wealthy successful town so probably.

Have they said why they’re asking you to leave now if you haven’t moved.

I used to be a Practice Manager and, in your situation, we would agree to keep you for a set period of time. For example, until your DD is discharged from treatment or transferred to adult services. It’s worth laying out your concerns re the detrimental effect on DD and asking but they are not contractually obliged to keep you unfortunately. Even an MP can’t make them.

@PhoboPhobia

Have they said why they’re asking you to leave now if you haven’t moved.

I used to be a Practice Manager and, in your situation, we would agree to keep you for a set period of time. For example, until your DD is discharged from treatment or transferred to adult services. It’s worth laying out your concerns re the detrimental effect on DD and asking but they are not contractually obliged to keep you unfortunately. Even an MP can’t make them.

The reason is I'm out of catchment, but by a quirk of the county following a stream that does a loop around our farm. The parish boundaries, phone companies etc, include us in. We're neither fish nor fowl. We have quite a few issues with this quirk, including an ambulance being sent from the wrong depot to an emergency heart attack because of our postcode. He died : ( so I'm quite sensitive about it.

If we could get DD through this stage I would grudgingly accept it. Should I write to the practice manager or call - or both - what will have most impact? Or set up an appt? The letter comes from the data manager.

Thank you - and to everyone who has replied.

Have you only just moved though? You’d have a strong case to stay if they’ve had you on their books for a long time at that address and they’ve only just realised.

@PhoboPhobia

Have you only just moved though? You’d have a strong case to stay if they’ve had you on their books for a long time at that address and they’ve only just realised.

Joined when I was 15, left when I was 27, rejoined aged 34 so 25 years there.