The Cookham Plan
People and Places Group
Healthcare Services
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The Cookham Plan People and Places Group Healthcare Services |
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Cookham has one central Medical Centre, located in Cookham Rise, which provides medical cover five days a week from 8 am to 6.30 pm for 8000 patients from Cookham and Bourne End. There is a pharmacy located within 50m of the Medical Centre. Although there is some parking available, the Medical Centre is located on a main road and there is a lot of parking congestion associated with the Centre, local shops and Pinder Hall. Road conditions in the vicinity are dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians, especially the elderly and infirm.
There are five partners, one assistant and a doctor training for General Practice. The practice is unusual as there is an active Patient Participation Group which helps organise health education evenings a regular newsletter and a video and book library. The doctors and the practice nurses provide routine general health care as well as a full range of specialised clinics. These include child health surveillance and immunisation, family planning, antenatal care, well person clinics, also chronic care clinics for diabetes, asthma, coronary care, and rheumatology. These clinics are particularly important in Cookham as there is a predominantly retired population (44%) and the public transport system to the surrounding hospitals is very poor.
Attached to the medical centre are health visitors and community nurses. The health visitors organise child immunisation, child surveillance and some antenatal advice.
The community nurses look after those patients unable to attend the surgery due to major illness and disability. Social Services assessments are provided so that patients are able to be maintained in the community for as long as possible having their basic needs met by a visiting team of carers.
The waiting time for outpatient appointments for suspected cancer cases is under 2 weeks and around 8 weeks for routine referrals. Waiting times for operations are variable and often patients are offered procedures out of area in order to meet the target of around 12 weeks.
The Out of Hours service is covered by local doctors working from St Marks Hospital. Minor injury units in Heatherwood Hospital Ascot and Upton Hospital in Slough deal with non major trauma, whilst acute emergencies are treated in Wexham Park casualty department.
Important support is provided by Cookham Voluntary Service, Elizabeth House Day Centre for the over sixties, and there are active groups within the area to promote exercise (S.M.I.L.E.), cardiac rehabilitation, mental health (MIND) and CRUSE for bereavement.
Key Findings
The level of medial services needs to be maintained given the higher elderly population.
Whilst the local facilities themselves are adequate, they are on a crowded site, and parking is difficult.
Keeping the Medical Facilities in Cookham itself is essential.
Action Plan
The over-riding priority is to keep the Medical Centre in the middle of the village.
It is proposed that any new development should go on land at the rear of the site, possibly releasing land at the front for parking. It is recognised that the intrusion into such land, which is classified as Green Belt is a very sensitive matter.
Parking is currently a significant problem. We are conscious of problems of access to the land at the rear would have to be overcome. Access could be made by knocking down part of the present building to allow cars through to the back. Any expansion of the facilities should include consideration for an NHS Dentist.
If it is not possible to expand on this site, a larger site will need to be considered elsewhere, bearing in mind the over-riding priority to keep the Medical Centre in the middle of the village, and should incorporate both the Pharmacy and an NHS Dentist.