{"id":1134848,"date":"2026-08-07T00:39:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T00:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1134848\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T00:39:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T00:39:15","slug":"fears-raised-over-closure-plan-for-sutton-bonington-doctors-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1134848\/","title":{"rendered":"Fears raised over closure plan for Sutton Bonington doctor\u2019s surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many elderly residents would have to travel much further to access healthcare if the practice shut down\"Residential<\/p>\n

The surgery, pictured here in 2008, is situated in a former residential bungalow and is in ‘significant disrepair’, bosses say(Image: Google)<\/p>\n

A Nottinghamshire medical centre could close under new plans.<\/a><\/p>\n

Sutton Bonington\u2019s GP surgery, on Orchard Close, is one of four local surgeries run by the Village Health Group (VHG).<\/p>\n

But bosses at VHG have proposed the site\u2019s closure and launched an online consultation to collect views from members of the public about the idea.<\/p>\n

The group also runs surgeries in Keyworth, East Leake and Ruddington, which existing Sutton Bonington patients would be able to use as they would remain registered with the practice.<\/p>\n

But the news has not gone down well with some local residents \u2013 or the councillors that represent the area for Rushcliffe Borough and Nottinghamshire County councils.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Conservative<\/a> Councillor Andy Brown, East Leake & Ruddington councillor for Nottinghamshire, said: \u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous. [The problem] is the distance [users] would have to go to East Leake [if the surgery closed].<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no buses. You\u2019d have to get the number 66 to Loughborough which is very infrequent, and then a number 1 service to East Leake. It\u2019s a journey of an hour-and-a-half or something like that. Plus, not everybody\u2019s able to get on a bus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a big loss, especially to those people who haven\u2019t got vehicles and elderly people. You\u2019ve also got to remember the residents of Normanton-on-Soar and Zouch, not just Sutton Bonington, that use it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The details were posted online on July 17, with information also posted through the doors of residents.<\/p>\n

A statement from VHG says: \u201cWe have carefully reviewed how our services are delivered across all VHG sites, alongside the condition and long-term sustainability of our buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sutton Bonington surgery \u2013 a bungalow on a small residential road in the village \u2013 is in \u201csignificant disrepair\u201d, according to bosses.<\/p>\n

But it would require \u201csubstantial investment\u201d to meet modern healthcare standards, they assert, and a number of \u201cstructural limitations\u201d with the building would make it difficult to adapt to modern healthcare services.<\/p>\n

Coupled with its limited opening hours and \u201ccomparatively\u201d low levels of patient activity, those in charge appear to not think it is worth repairing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m absolutely gutted,\u201d said local resident Sheila Harrod, who has lived in the area for more than 50 years. \u201cI\u2019m losing my sight and I can\u2019t really get on the bus so it\u2019s relying on family all the time to take you. It\u2019s not fair on the pensioners. I know the people that use it regularly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got no idea what the alternative would be. But it\u2019s not on. They want you to go to Keyworth or further away, which is impossible. They\u2019d have to have some sort of voluntary service set up or something, a driver or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I don\u2019t drive I can\u2019t get anywhere now. It\u2019s such a shame. I\u2019ve lived here since 1974 and I\u2019m seeing [services and amenities] just come and go. Nothing\u2019s replaced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other reasons for the proposed closure are that the cost of operating the building is \u201chigh in relation to the number of appointments provided\u201d.<\/p>\n

VHG adds that \u201cmost patients registered at Sutton Bonington already choose to attend appointments at our other Village Health Group surgery sites.”<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, August 5, Cllr Brown, along with Rushcliffe Conservative councillor Matt Barney, who represents Soar Valley, sent a letter to the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB)<\/a> expressing \u201cserious concerns\u201d regarding the proposed closure.<\/p>\n

It says: \u201cThis proposal has understandably caused significant anxiety amongst residents. We do not believe that closing the surgery without ensuring genuinely accessible alternatives is in the best interests of our community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe therefore urge the ICB to intervene and work with the VHG to identify a solution that enables GP services to continue to be provided from Sutton Bonington. We believe every effort should be made to avoid the permanent loss of this important local facility.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many elderly residents would have to travel much further to access healthcare if the practice shut down The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1134849,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4316],"tags":[527,105,4348,211,1403,16,15],"class_list":["post-1134848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-conservative-party","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-nhs","tag-nottinghamshire","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117051443526698252","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1134848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1134848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1134848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1134849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1134848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1134848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1134848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}