Didcot GP delay 'completely shocking' - Streeting

The Health Secretary has described a delay in providing a new GP surgery for Didcot as "completely shocking".

Residents began moving onto Great Western Park, in Didcot, more than a decade ago, but health facilities promised in the original proposals have still not been built.

Wes Streeting was asked about the issue in an interview with BBC Radio Oxford, where he said the government was doing "everything" it could to help secure the new surgery.

Plans were delayed again last year after negotiations with a developer broke down over costs.

Streeting was made aware of issues around delivering the surgery when the Liberal Democrat MP for Didcot & Wantage, Olly Glover, raised it in parliament last year.

When asked about progress on Wednesday, Streeting said it was on his personal agenda despite it being unusual for a health secretary to get "drawn into a debate about a specific GP practice".

He added: "This is a debating point nationally because we do need to build more homes; this country's crying out for them.

"But one of the big things people often say is, sure, but we also need the infrastructure, the services to go alongside.

"So we've got the [Integrated Care Board] exploring all of the delivery options available for the development...

"Olly [Glover] is a new MP for the area, [and] is not letting up on this.

"He's like a dog with a bone.

"And I have to say, when he confronted Parliament with the scale of the challenge, but also the length of time that people have been waiting, I found that shocking."

The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) approved a business case for a new surgery in 2024.

It said in December last year that "proposed reimbursement levels" from developer Assura exceeded "what is affordable".

On Wednesday, the care board's place director for Oxfordshire, Dan Leveson, said there was a "process in place" this month to try to identify a new developer.

He added: "The cost of construction is very high, the cost of borrowing is very high, so therefore the costs of actually delivering these things become really, really high.

"And we have a responsibility not only just to deliver the buildings and things like that, but to deliver value for money."

You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.