Public meeting held over GP practice concerns

A public meeting has been held in West Sussex over concerns about services at a series of GP practices.

Modality Mid Sussex has sites in Crawley Down, Burgess Hill and two in East Grinstead and covers parts of Surrey, and was rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

About 50 people attended a meeting in Crawley on Wednesday, with concerned local residents citing worsening issues with getting a doctor's appointment and poor patients care since the inspection in September 2023.

Modality Mid Sussex said in a statement it always welcomed feedback and would "continue working hard to provide the best possible care to our community".

Kevin Gallagher, chair of the Crawley Down Health Action Group, said patient outcomes were "no better" since the inspection.

"Patients are being asked to travel up to 22 miles away for a routine GP appointment, and have to jump through digital hoops and barriers placed in their way to make appointments in person," he said.

The group is urging local people to make their views known to the CQC.

Modality Mid Sussex said it had recruited more staff, improved patient access and strengthened patient support in response to the CQC's findings.

"Our Patient Participation Group has played a key role in shaping these changes," a spokesperson said.

"We remain committed to delivering responsive, high-quality, patient-focused care, and welcome ongoing feedback to drive further improvements."

NHS Sussex has previously acknowledged there were some areas of the county where people found it more difficult than others to access services.

A spokesperson said it had been working closely with Modality Mid Sussex and the CQC following the inspection to support the practice to respond to the areas raised in the inspection report and "improve services for their patients."

They said that all the sides were "working to ensure that patients are receiving the best possible care and support".