South Belfast Out of Hours GP service under threat, Castlereagh councillor warns

An urgent motion to save a "vital" Belfast out of hours GP service is to be brought before council.
The move comes after Belfast Trust admitted it faces "challenges" in maintaining its out of hours provision at its bases on the Crumlin Road and the Knockbreda Health and Wellbeing site in South Belfast and is focusing on a need for "changes".

The Trust says it would be "more cost-effective and more efficient to provide the service from one base" which has sparked anger from a Castlereagh councillor.

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Castlereagh South DUP rep, Brian Higginson spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) saying: "This is a vital service in the local community and must be retained, this proposal and 13 week associated consultation has raised apprehensions with many elderly people, families and vulnerable service users, who currently use the the Knockbreda Health and Wellbeing site from across South and East Belfast.

"South Belfast DUP are opposed to the proposal of moving the Out of Hours GP service from the Knockbreda Health and Wellbeing site to the Crumlin road.
"South Belfast MLA Edwin Poots MLA has written a letter to the chief executive of Belfast Health and Social Care Trust outlining our opposition to this proposal of moving the service, he is currently waiting on a response.
"As the local councillor for the Knockbreda area within Castlereagh South, I am bringing a Notice of Motion to oppose the proposed removal of Knockbreda Out of Hours GP service, that will put forward at the full council meeting of Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council on the 26th November."
As part of the consultation, two information events will be held to share the proposed changes. They will take place on November 28 from 2pm-3.30pm at the Olympia Leisure Centre and on December 5 from 7pm -8.30pm at Knockbracken Healthcare Park.
The LDRS contacted the Belfast Trust, with a spokesperson directing the media to its public announcement on its website.
It reads: "Belfast Health and Social Care Trust is committed to ensuring our General Practice Out of Hours services are of the highest possible quality and are effective and compassionate. We want to ensure that service users, and families, staff and the public at large have an opportunity to consider and comment on the proposed reorganisation of GP Out of Hours services.

"Belfast Trust is responsible for the provision of GP Out of Hours services for the population of Belfast. Over recent years, there have been challenges in maintaining out of hours service provision at the two bases on the Crumlin Road and the Knockbreda Health and Wellbeing site."

But the Trust adds: "In order to make the best use of public monies, we consider it would be more cost-effective and more efficient to provide the service from one base, alongside the relatively newly established Phone First service. Moving to one site with the newly introduced skill mix would make considerable economies of scale by consolidating resources and would address the significant, increasing overspend that the service is facing year on year.

"Evidence has shown that the current model is no longer sustainable and frequently, unfortunately we have had to close one site due to workforce issues."

The statement added: "Belfast Trust is now launching a consultation on these proposed changes. The consultation will run for a period of 13 weeks, closing on Thursday 2 January 2025.
"We would encourage as many people as possible to have their say in this consultation. You can find full details, including the consultation paper on the Citizen Space website."

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