A NEW GP surgery in Rose Hill should be provided using money from a £2.4bn funding boost from the Government, it has been claimed.

NHS chiefs have announced the funding for GP surgeries in England between now and 2020.

Campaigners in Rose Hill who have been calling for the estate to get its own surgery for many years have welcomed the funding and called on the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (OCCG) to ensure the money was spent in the estate.

Ed Turner, who represents the area on Oxford City Council, wrote to OCCG about the funding last month.

He said: "There remains no GP surgery in Rose Hill- an area which is shown to have very substantial health needs- nor is there one in the neighbouring Littlemore estate.

"There is no greater local issue at the moment than the difficulty of accessing GP services.

"With the responsibility for GP commissioning now squarely coming under the OCCG's responsibility for the first time, along with this new funding stream, there is the possibility to make a real difference to primary care provision in our part of Oxford."

When plans were first drawn up for the new community centre in Carole's Way it had been proposed to have a GP surgery in the building.

But those plans fell through and although there is a health suite in the building it provides services such as stop-smoking and weight-loss advice rather than a full GP provision.

People in the estate travel to surgeries such as Donnington Health Centre in Henley Avenue or to Blackbird Leys or Cowley.

Mr Turner said: "I can see a couple of options for service provision.

"One would be providing an overflow GP surgery, possibly bookable through existing practices but commissioned separately, whether through Oxford or another local surgery.

"A different option would be to commission a branch surgery, most probably run by the Donnington practice."

Mr Turner said he hoped to be able to meet with the OCCG to discuss the issue further.

People in Rose Hill have said there is a real problem for older people and those without cars to get to a surgery easily.

Williamson Way resident Malcolm Millard, 67, said: "This new funding is definitely something I would like to see happen.

"Sometimes money seems to go to other areas, it should be allocated to us, especially for a GP surgery.

"That is what most people are desperate for.

"There are so many older people and people with children and those who do not have transport for whom there is no way of getting to existing surgeries."

OCCG spokeswoman Sue Boyce said: "OCCG has looked carefully at the requests for a new GP practice at the Rose Hill Community Centre.

“However, it would not be viable to establish a new practice for the population of Rose Hill and there is other GP provision available close by.

"Nevertheless, the community centre is a fantastic resource and a number of health related services will be set up there for local people to take advantage of, including: counselling; mind wellbeing; care services for people with long term conditions; a stop smoking service; and a weight management service.”

"More services are planned going forward."