High demand for Village Surgery meeting as petition grows

Pinner Village Hall, the venue for the meeting on Tuesday, September 7, only has capacity for 150 people and because Harrow PCT was bombarded with requests for a seat - reaching the total allowed within five days - they hastily arranged a second meeting.

But even that may not be enough. James Walters, the health authority's director of development and system management, told the Observer: "We consulted with patient representatives and local councillors, who felt strongly that the meeting should be held in Pinner.

"We could have held it in the [Harrow] Arts Centre, which holds 400, but Pinner Village Hall is in the heart of Pinner."

Although Tuesday's meeting is still being advertised locally in shops and on notice boards, anyone who attends without pre-booking will have to be turned away.

Mr Walters continued: "There will be those who turn up on the evening and haven't booked in advance but at least there will be a second meeting. If we are getting huge numbers, we will look more widely at another venue.

"We want to hear what they have to say."

For the last two weeks, a petition on the counters of local chemists has called for NHS Harrow to reopen The Village Surgery, which currently lies vacant in Barrow Point Avenue.

The petitions at Angie's Chemist, in High Street, and Carter's Chemist, in Bridge Street, have between them attracted at least 300 signatures.

An employee at Angie's, who did not wish to be named, said: "Most [former patients] want it to reopen. Even some of the Pinn Medical Centre patients have signed the petition because it is too crowded.

"I think the patients should have a choice of where to go, it is a monopoly at the moment. Obtaining prescriptions from the Pinn is very difficult, it is taking a long time."

Tuesday's meeting, starting at 7.30pm, will give former patients their first opportunity to question senior NHS managers on why The Village Surgery was closed so suddenly.

James Walters will be joined at Pinner Village Hall by Harrow PCT interim chief executive, Mark Easton, and staff from the patient advice and liaison service. It is not known whether any of the three former partners from The Village will attend.