A public meeting has been arranged to offer people another opportunity to share their views on the future of Toftwood Medical Centre.

NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) is gathering and listening to views from local people during an engagement period running from 10 October to 21 November 2024.

The public meeting will take place on Wednesday 13 November 2024, from 6pm to 7:30pm at Dereham Memorial Hall.

We are ticketing this event to ensure people can sit and participate comfortably, and we can ensure we know people’s accessibility needs in advance. You can book your place by registering on Eventbrite.

A number of opportunities to get involved have already been announced, including:

• Completing the online survey via this link: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/toftwoodmedicalcentre/
• Completing the paper survey which can be found in the engagement document on the ICB’s website 
• Sharing your ideas at one of the drop-in sessions detailed here.

The ICB is running a consultation as the current contract with Toftwood Medical Centre for providing general practice services is expiring on 31 March 2025. With the contract end approaching, NHS Norfolk and Waveney has reviewed the service. 

The review has highlighted that Toftwood Medical Centre provides good services; however, it also faces a number of challenges. The building is too small for the population it serves and it is in need of investment to ensure that it can continue to provide good quality services into the future.  

Having looked at a range of options, from extending the building to relocating the practice, the review proposes that the best way forward would be to automatically transfer patients to neighbouring Orchard Surgery and Theatre Royal Surgery on 1 April 2025, and to close Toftwood Medical Centre.  

The review notes that Orchard Surgery and Theatre Royal Surgery are expanding their buildings and will be recruiting new staff, so they will have additional space and capacity to care for more people.  

Once the consultation has closed, all feedback provided will be reviewed and compiled into a report that will be published on the ICB website.