Service reduction at Boxford Surgery, near Sudbury, draws resident’s ire as decision on potential closure approaches

The reduction of services at a village GP surgery has been branded deliberate to support the case for its closure – by forcing residents to go to its larger sister practice.

Boxford resident Henry Kimbell bemoaned the ‘short-sighted’ changes affecting Boxford Mill Surgery, after his child needed to miss school to travel out of the village for a routine medical procedure.

Having been unable to secure an appointment in the village, Mr Kimbell’s wife and daughter instead had to make the trip to Hadleigh Health Centre during school time last Thursday.

He said the whole experience had taken at least two hours – had the same service been available in Boxford, he stated his daughter could have been back in school in under 30 minutes.

Both healthcare settings are operated by the Hadleigh Boxford Group Practice (HBGP), whose partners are proposing to consolidate all services in Boxford over to Hadleigh.

“From the point of view of how useful Boxford Surgery is, it’s a minute’s walk for us,” Mr Kimbell told the Suffolk Free Press. “Contrast that with this excessive journey for what is a fairly routine procedure.

“I think the practice are trying to squeeze the availability in Boxford so much that people are forced to come to Hadleigh, so they can make the argument that Boxford Surgery is not fit for purpose.”

A decision on the future of Boxford Mill Surgery is expected in the early part of this year.

HBGP partners claim that appointments in the village have steadily decreased in recent years, and that the facility itself would need significant investment to meet modern standards.

Certain services have already been reduced in Boxford, with all patients under the age of five or with an acute respiratory illness now required to attend Hadleigh Health Centre.

Mr Kimbell, who volunteers as a driver for the local community transport scheme, acknowledged that investment was necessary to improve the Boxford site.

However, he argued that the demand was there to make it viable, pointing out that it was also used by residents of neighbouring Edwardstone, Groton and Kersey.

“I think it’s more likely than not that it will close, but I hope that’s not case,” Mr Kimbell added.

“It would be a crying shame if it did close, and add a lot of stress to people’s lives. Making things easier and more convenient for busy families is just common sense.

“There is overwhelming support for the surgery. The demand is there. I really hope a decision is made in favour of what the village wants.

“It’s a vital service. It does need an upgrade, granted, but if they improved it not even by a huge amount, more people would use it, and the stats would show it can be a thriving hub.

“Staffing would be the bigger challenge, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. Unfortunately, the powers that be seem to have made their minds up from the start.

“At the end of the day, they are affecting the users that they’re meant to be caring for, which is wrong on a basic level.”