CLOSE to 6,000 patients could be locked out of their doctors surgery and its future has been left in limbo after the lead practitioner resigned.

On March 31 Keyhealth Medical Centre in Waltham Abbey will close having been placed in special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in November.

Despite help coming in the form of a support package from the Royal College of Practitioners, the Local Medical Committee and West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), practice contract holder Dr Mark Greenhalgh gave his three months notice on December 31.

Now, Epping Forest MP Eleanor Laing Laing is calling for an enquiry into what happened.

The list of faults the CQC found with Keyhealth is long and damning.

The report stated that only one in ten patients with special needs were seen regularly for a check up, smear test results were not properly monitored and some staff were not suitably trained or DBS checked.

Underlying this all was a failed leadership structure which led to an unsettled administration workforce, transient clinical staff, self-employed nurses and GPs who were all locums, aside from Dr Greenhalgh.

The sum result from a patient’s perspective was a surgery with long waiting times and irritable staff.

PHD student Ellis Spicer said: “I ended up in an urgent care centre last year because I was told there was only one doctor seeing patients and the receptionist told me to go to a pharmacy.

“I had a bladder infection and a sky high fever, all I needed was some antibiotics and pain continued on Page 3 relief because I could barely walk and I was treated with absolutely no respect or sympathy by the reception staff.

“It really concerned me how I wasted NHS resources that day when what I needed could be gained from a simple doctor’s appointment.”

Others, including mum-of-two Jenna Horrod, had watched the service’s decline.

She said: “It was fab when we first joined five years ago, but the last few years it has been terrible. You can never get an appointment unless you literally argue and then I was always waiting an hour to be seen. I avoid going unless the kids are very ill now.”

It is not clear what will happen to patients signed up to Keyhealth, although it is likely they will be asked to join other practices.

When asked by The Guardian, a West Essex CCG spokesperson said: “On liaison and agreement with neighbouring practices and after reviewing the existing facilities, the CCG has taken a decision on the future of the practice and this will be communicated to patients this week, commencing February 2.”

Keyhealth is one of three practices based at Waltham Abbey Health Centre in Sewardstone Road. The other two practices are not affected.

Dr Greenhalgh was contacted for comment.