GPs have pulled the plug on a pioneering healthcare organisation providing specialist care and advice to NHS patients.

The move has forced the closure of a clinic in the Ebbisham Centre this morning with a loss of 50 jobs.

Epsom Downs Integrated Care Services, Edics, was told by Surrey Downs Clinical Commissioning Group (SDCCG), on July 31, that its contract, to provide specialist treatment and advice at consultant-led, local, NHS clinics in the area would not be renewed.

The move will affect thousands of patients across Epsom, Ewell, Banstead, Leatherhead and Worcester Park and staff at Edics are said to be "absolutely distraught" according to a director who said the CCG gave them just 12 hours' notice. 

Edics had referred patients to clinics at the Ebbisham Centre, in Epsom; Old Cottage Hospital, in Alexandra Road, Epsom; Leatherhead Hospital; and the Tattenham Clinic by GPs for minor surgery and treatments if appropriate or for more specialised examinations, after which they could then be referred to a hospital.

The Ebbisham Centre clinic, which shut its doors this morning, offered plastic surgery, a dermatology clinic at which small cancers were treated, general surgery, and neurology, diabetes, ear, nose and throat services, and saw up to 400 patients a week.

Patients will now be redirected to the Old Cottage Hospital, Epsom Hospital and, for dermatology, as far away as Cobham Hospital.

Clinics at the Old Cottage Hospital and Leatherhead Hospital will remain open, but will be run by a different provider, while patients who were seen at the Tattenham Clinic will now be required to go to Epsom Hospital.

Dr Peter Stott, a medical director at Edics, said the decision stems from a "contractual dispute" between Edics and SDCCG and has resulted in 50 GPs, nurses, administrative staff and office workers being made redundant.

Dr Stott said: "Everyone here is absolutely distraught as we have been giving patients quality care for the last seven years. 

"We have highly motivated members of staff who are now wondering what they are going to do."

He said he believes the contractual issues between the two bodies could have been resolved and that Edics was "surprised" when its contract was not renewed.

A spokeswoman for SDCCG said it is made the decision because it "wants to do things differently" but remains supportive of specialist care being provided in the community.

She said short-term measures have been put in place to ensure all patients who used Edics will still continue to receive the same care, but that the situation will be reviewed in September, while a "longer-term out-of-hospital" strategy is formulated by the CCG.

Asked why the change was not publicised and the press not informed, the spokeswoman said all Edics patients had been notified by letter and that this was the CCG’s "priority". 

Set up in 2005, Edics was widely regarded as a model for how to treat patients effectively in the community, relieving pressure on hard-pressed local hospitals.

Edic's Ebbisham Centre won the British Journal of Nursing Dermatology Prize last year.  It is also believed to have offered the only plastic surgery service in the area. 

Last July, Edics was awarded Any Qualified Provider status by the NHS allowing it to provide care across the south east and accept patients from anywhere in the UK.

Are you affected by the change?  Contact Hardeep Matharu on the newsdesk on 0208 722 6346, email hmatharu@london.newsquest, or leave a comment below.