A SENIOR Dudley councillor has hit out at proposals for the future of a Pensnett GP surgery which rule out bringing it back to its former base.

Health chiefs have announced two possible options for High Oak Surgery which was moved from its original Pensnett High Street location to the Brierley Hill Health and Social Care Centre in spring 2020 so the High Oak site could be given over for Covid testing during the pandemic.

Pensnett and Brockmoor councillor Judy Foster has been campaigning for a state-of-the-art GP facility for people in Pensnett ever since the High Oak Surgery service was moved.

But now health chiefs have announced that the only options on the table are to keep the service at Brierley Hill Health and Social Care Centre or to use the health and social care centre as a hub for the surgery with community outreach services also provided in the Pensnett area at locations such as community centres.

Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust, which runs the High Oak Surgery, has said the existing portacabin on the former surgery site is “nearing the end of its economic life” and that Dudley Council has earmarked the site for housing so a return to the High Oak site is not an option.

Cllr Foster, who gathered a petition calling for a state-of-the-art surgery for Pensnett, has slammed the proposals on offer.

She said: “Over the years, Pensnett has lost its own Post Office, own library, own secondary school, own housing office and now this.

‘’I am really disappointed for patients of High Oak but also for the growing population of Pensnett. I stand by the vision that local people have for a state-of-the-art facility and I will carry on fighting for one.”

A consultation on the proposals will run until Monday December 5.

People can find out more and have their say by visiting www.dihc.nhs.uk, by calling 0121 612 4110 to receive a hard copy of the survey in the post or by attending a drop-in session at a local community venue (dates and times available online at www.dihc.nhs.uk).

Two public meetings are also taking place at Brockmoor Community Centre in, Brierley Hill. The first will take place on Wednesday November 9 at 6.30pm, with the second on Wednesday November 23 at 10.30am.

Sarb Basi, director of Primary Care at NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, has urged "patients and people who live in and around Pensnett to come forward and share their views with the provider Dudley Integrated Health and Care Trust" and a spokesperson for Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust said the views would be "very carefully" considered before any conclusions are reached about the location of the surgery.

Cllr Foster has also raised concerns about the public meetings being held in Brockmoor rather than Pensnett after calls from a number of concerned patients.

She said: “Having complained about the cost and inconvenience – due to limited public transport options and mobility issues - of travelling to Brierley Hill for GP services, I can understand why patients are asking why public meetings are taking place at a Brockmoor venue.

“The options for High Oak proposed and now the venue arranged for the public meetings are giving Pensnett people the impression no-one is listening to them.”