Brand new £13m health centre cuts service over fire safety fears (From Sutton Guardian)

Jubilee Health Centre in Wallington cuts service after failing health and safety regulations

12:50pm Thursday 31st January 2013 in News By James Pepper

Six-time Paralympic gold medallist and wheelchair-bound Wallington resident David Weir officially opened Jubilee Health Centre in Wallington last year

A brand new £13 million health centre has been forced to close a service after concerns about fire safety.

The Jubilee Health Centre in Wallington, has withdrawn its blood testing service after complaints about fire evacuation procedures and the lack of a contingency plan for water safety.

Six-time Paralympic gold medallist and wheelchair-bound Wallington resident David Weir officially opened the centre in October last year.

Tom Brake, MP for Carshalton and Wallington, who was also there for the opening of the centre, said the situation was "embarrassing".

He said: "I want this resolved as soon as possible. It is embarrassing that we have a brand new state of the art centre offering a range of services, but not all services are available to patients."

At the opening in May, former mayor Dr Brendan Hudson hailed it as a "great day for the NHS", but since then the centre has been blighted with problems.

In its opening month, some patients, who had booked appointments weeks in advance, were turned away by a security guard due to "last-minute contractual issues", with one patient being taken to hospital.

Carole Heath, 65, was told when she went to the centre for a blood test two weeks ago, that the service had been removed and to go to St Helier Hospital.

She said: "At 65, I'm relatively young, there are people living around here who are in their 80's, they will need to get a taxi or a bus to the hospital. Will the centre pay for that?"

An NHS SW London Spokesperson said: "We would like to apologise for any inconvenience following the temporary withdrawal of the phlebotomy (blood testing) service from the Jubilee Health Centre in Wallington."

"Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, as the provider of the service, have taken this action whilst the landlord of the building (Shotfield Development Business Partnership), NHS South West London and the Trust work together to resolve teething issues with the building."