RESIDENTS, councillors and healthcare representatives shared their thoughts on Westbury’s health and care services at The Laverton last night (Thursday) following a report by Healthwatch Wiltshire which was published last week.

After three months of work in the town, the independent organisation invited residents to discuss the in-depth report with a panel of staff from the White Horse Health Centre (WHHC), NHS Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Wiltshire Council.

The report focusses on aspects such as transport, the defunct hospital, infrastructure for new housing and also includes areas which could be improved, as well as things that residents are happy with.

During the forum, Westbury resident and "disgruntled patient of the White Horse Health Centre" Emily Gardiner asked how the practice is going to get more GPs at the practice, as she finds it difficult getting an appointment.

In response, the 37-year-old was told that “the recruitment of GPs is a national issue” and that “the days are gone when you could ring up and see a GP of your choice on the same day.”

Dr Debbie Beale, of the WHHC, added: “We now have young doctors coming in for training and they have had really positive experiences. The hope is that some will stay with us.”

Following that, other members of the audience asked about the WHHC’s triage system, which is used to decide the order of treatment of patients based on the severity of their condition, and the problem of bed blocking.

Erica Watson, chairman of Westbury’s STOP campaign group, then asked what the CCG’s plans are to support youth in the town.

Dr Beale replied: “I have a strong interest in young people’s mental health and we are fortunate that the government has recognised it as a big problem.

“Westbury has been chosen as a pilot to work with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Team (CAHMS) and we have been working in conjunction with Matravers School to support those who need it.”

Others used the forum to congratulate Healthwatch Wiltshire for their report and several residents also complemented the WHHC, including one man who thought it was "pretty good going" that his neighbour had been able to receive treatment at the practice on the same day he had telephoned in.

Speaking after the meeting, Mrs Watson said: “It feels like Wiltshire Council and the CCG are both saying we are powerless.

“GPs are doing their best but the surgery simply cannot be future-proof, as we are told it is, if it is already having difficulties retaining staff.

“I know it must be tough as young doctors would prefer to live and work in a city but simply saying there is nothing that can be done is not good enough."

After the meeting, Anne Dunderdale, 62, from Westbury, added that the town is "only just coping at the moment" but will not be able to do so if fracking takes place in the town.

A spokesperson from Healthwatch Wiltshire said: "We were very pleased at the turn-out to our meeting which provided local people with the opportunity to meet the key decision makers in health and social care.

"Hopefully people, who couldn’t get to our meeting, will read our report which sets out the issues which people said were important to them.

"We have made some suggestions about next steps in our report and we will be following up on these."

The report can be found on Healthwatch Wiltshire's website: https://www.healthwatchwiltshire.co.uk/project/health-and-care-in-westbury/