Although there had been attempts to obtain an additional healthcare facility for SWF in the past, the Crouch Vale Medical Centre was not the result of a proposal made by the GP practices.

The first I heard of it was during a visit to my practice by John Niland who I’d first known when we were both members of the Maldon & South Chelmsford PCT’s Professional Executive Committee (PEC). At that time his main focus (judging by how often it was mentioned) appeared to be ensuring gypsies were well cared for. He later benefitted from a ‘jobs for the boys’ situation when Mid Essex PCT split its purchaser (commissioning) and provider arms following a government directive. He ended up becoming the CEO of the ‘provider’ arm (CECS) which later evolved into Provide. Whilst on this journey he appeared to turn into a bit of an entrepreneur.

When I met him he gave the impression that he’d been given the job of ‘selling’ the idea of a new medical centre to the town’s GPs. Whether he was acting on behalf of the ‘local NHS’, the developer, or ‘a bit of both’, wasn’t made clear. Irrespective, he painted a glowing picture of what was on offer.

In a sense, he was pushing at an open door. There had been discussion among the practices for years about having an additional facility – one that would provide diagnostic facilities, consultant clinics, additional services such as physiotherapy and might even include a minor injuries service. The NHS had been banging on about bringing care closer to the patient (which would relieve the pressure on the hospitals and reduce the costs) and we shared this ambition. The problem was there was never any money to back such plans … and, even if there had been, the local NHS lacked the organisational ability to make progress – as witnessed by the complete shambles that was the attempt to build a replacement for St Peter’s Hospital.

Here’s one example of a previous attempt to secure a new facility. For a long time what is now the ASDA GEORGE clothing shop in South Woodham was a Harvey’s furniture store. It did reasonably well whilst the development of the new town was in full swing but, as the house building rate declined, so did its sales. Eventually the decision was made to close the store. We entered into a discussion about converting it into a new additional facility.

This proposal didn’t come to anything, however, and, for once, it wasn’t just a matter of the PCT being unable to get its act together. Turning what was a shop into a bespoke medical facility would have cost an arm and a leg and there was limited parking at the back – so we could understand the reluctance.

In addition the agent wanted around £110,000 per annum for the shop. This struck us as costly at the time … although the £millions of taxpayers’ money thrown at ‘The New Surgery/The Practice subsequently and the amount of dosh lavished on the CVMC have lent it a more favourable perspective.

Furthermore, the late lamented Rev Paul Haworth suggested that a new facility should be sited at SWF station (where there was an extensive car parking area that was fenced off and, therefore, unused). This would not only benefit the local residents but could also be of use to, for example, commuters who passed through the station. This suggestion was not pursued by the NHS.

So that was the background to my meeting with Niland. At first the direction of travel wasn’t clear. I was given the impression that this would be a brand new additional facility with lots of bells and whistles. This was enough to get me interested enough to pursue it to the next stage.

There followed lots of very long and very tedious meetings which the town’s GPs had to squeeze in between their clinical commitments. We were allowed to make suggestions … most of which were ignored. In particular the suggestion that the building should be large enough to ‘future proof’ it (bearing in mind the near certainty that there would be considerable development in and around SWF) was quietly forgotten. The repeated stipulation that there must be a suitable bay (with the requisite ‘plumbing’) for the breast screening unit – a bay which should double as a site for the widely used mobile MRI and CT scanners and would allow diagnoses to be made without the need for patients to travel long distances – was also ignored.

My request that air conditioning should be installed during the construction phase rather than after the building was completed also failed to bear fruit and the staff have sweltered in the summer months as a result.

It also gradually became clear that there was a plan to close most if not all of the town centre healthcare facilities which, given that the new facility was to be on the periphery of the town, would greatly disadvantage a large number of patients … particularly the elderly and those with mobility problems.

Slowly – very slowly – the gloss started to come off.

Dr John Cormack