LEYTONSTONE: Centre faces chop despite popularity (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

LEYTONSTONE: Centre faces chop despite popularity

4:28pm Friday 23rd November 2007 in News By Carl Brown

A POPULAR health centre providing specialised and complementary treatments is set to close.

The Community Health Centre, in Kirkdale Road, Leytonstone, provides a range of services, including homeopathic and osteopathic services, and the African Well Women's Clinic.

Staff said it is exceptionally popular, and has been visited by 20,000 patients over the past ten years.

Prince Charles, a big fan of homeopathy, visited the centre in 2004, and the African Well Women's Clinic shot to national prominence in the summer when its work providing support to victims of female genital mutilation was highlighted in a Met police campaign.

But due to a £216,822 funding shortfall Waltham Forest Primary Care Trust (PCT) wants to close the centre. It is feared dozens of jobs will be axed.

Some services will be lost all together. Others will be relocated or merged with other departments.

Sally Huggins, Unison branch administrator at Whipps Cross University Hospital, said: "The centre provides a valuable service for people who don't want drug-related treatment. It is also in an accessible place, next to the Tube station.

"This will only put more pressure on other parts of the NHS."

Homeopathy services will no longer be provided in Waltham Forest and patients will instead be referred to the Royal London Homeopathic Hosp-ital at Great Ormond Street.

Homeopathy involves the prescription of small doses of natural remedies that, in greater quantites, produce the symptoms for which a patient is being treated.

According to PCT clinical services director Liz Delauney, the "evidence for the efficacy of homeopathy is weak".

Osteopathy services will be transferred to the physiotherapy department at Whipps Cross, prompting fears that specialist treatment will be lost.

Psychological therapists at the centre will be moved to the North East London Mental Health Trust (NELMHT).

Outreach nurses, who provide help to elderly and homeless people, will work from other practices.

The African Well Women's Clinic will be moved to the Oliver Road Medical Centre at Leyton Orient's Brisbane Road ground and merged with family planning.

Mrs Huggins said staff feared the move to a traditionally white, male-dominated venue (a football ground) will deter some ethnic minority women with sensitive problems.

WALTHAM Forest PCT has agreed to consult patients before making a final decision on the future of the Community Health Centre.

According to Unison, the PCT originally consulted only staff, but after pressure from the union, has now agreed to speak to patients.

Unison branch administrator Sally Huggins said that the PCT instructed staff to supply it with contact details of patients, but staff stopped this after fears it would compromise patient confidentiality.

The PCT is meeting Unison on Monday to discuss how the consultation will be carried out.