RESIDENTS in Burton are “up for a fight” to save the village medical practice from closure.
June Davis has been rallying residents together to campaign against Christchurch Medical Practice’s plans to close its Burton surgery.
The 75-year-old launched a petition to ‘save the practice’, which has gathered more than 580 signatures of support.
As a resident of Burton for more than 40 years, June is passionate about keeping the service in the village.
She told the Daily Echo: “I think most of the residents who belong to the practice will probably be up for a fight.”
Christchurch Medical Practice (CMP) currently has four surgeries – Burton which has 3,682 registered patients, Bransgore which has 1,564 patients, and the Orchard and Barn surgeries in Purewell care for a total of 12,104 people.
However, in December, CMP announced it would be closing its Bransgore branch by the end of January 2024, ahead of ‘plans’ to close its Burton site in April 2024.
Services would then be continued at the two remaining Purewell surgeries.
June said accessing the Purewell branches would be difficult for residents in Burton with mobility issues, or those who don’t drive.
She also fears that the Morebus 1B service – which goes from Burton to the Purewell practices – will eventually be removed, leaving some villagers stranded.
June said: “I’m registered, with my family. We still drive and we still have a car, but if we didn’t have a car, we’d have to rely on a bus to get there.
“The chances are, Morebus might say there’s not enough people using the 1B service so will pull it, and we’ll be left with no bus service.
“The people that don’t have cars and rely on buses, what will they do?”
Now, June is hoping her Change.org petition rallies up more signatures, and CMP will reconsider its plans to close the Burton surgery.
She added: “I’ve written to (Christchurch MP) Christopher Chope and I got a reply from his secretary to say he wanted my address and I’ve supplied that, so I hope to hear back.”
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