Eastwood MSP, Jackson Carlaw has voiced his strong opposition to the permanent removal of the Greenlaw Medical Practice in Newton Mearns.
Mr Carlaw wrote to both the Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the Chief Officer of the East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership to express his concerns about the intended closure of the local healthcare facility.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been managing the practice since August 2024 and he requested that the health board continue running the centre until such times as a permanent solution to safeguard the future of Greenlaw could be identified.
However, the health board responded quickly to issue a decisive reply that it would close and there have been serious difficulties in trying to retender the contract for Greenlaw.
In his letter to the Health and Social Care Partnership, Mr Carlaw pointed out that there has been significant new housebuilding in Newton Mearns over recent years but without any increase to GP capacity and to meet the additional healthcare demands arising from a growing local population.
In the response from the Chief Officer, it was set out that the delivery of a new community health centre in Newton Mearns is a priority but there is no capital funding available for the project at present.
Scottish Conservative MSP for Eastwood, Jackson Carlaw MSP said:
“Constituents have been in touch with me directly to express their understandable frustration at the plans to close Greenlaw Medical Practice and I very much share the concerns of residents.
“I made urgent representation to both the Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the Chief Officer of the East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership to stress that the loss of this Newton Mearns GP surgery is an intolerable situation and must not be allowed to happen.
“There has been a housebuilding boom in Newton Mearns but unlike the requirement to build new schools to ensure the education estate can cope with the demands of a higher population, there is no similar mechanism in place to establish new GP practices or expand those already in the area.
“Consequently, there are considerable and growing pressures when it comes to local healthcare provision in Newton Mearns.
“The decision to permanently shut the doors of Greenlaw Medical Practice particularly when no new replacement GP surgery is to be established anytime soon is an unthinkable scenario and I urge both the health board and HSCP to look again at this critical local healthcare issue.”
