Earlier this month, it was announced that Ipswich Borough Council and the NHS Suffolk & North East Essex Integrated Care Board had dropped longstanding plans to build a new super surgery on the site of the former Tooks bakery on Old Norwich Road, Ipswich. 

When I heard the news, I was extremely disappointed. These discussions have been going on for many years, the existing practices are over-stretched and patient need has only continued to increase significantly since the closure of the Claydon and Barham Surgery in 2021. 

Too many residents continue to struggle to get appointments and I fully understand why the response from many people living in the area, impacted by this decision has been fury. Many feel dismayed as to how the decision to build the new practice could possibly take so long; one resident asked me how it was that so many new homes seemed to be built in the area, but the NHS could not build a single surgery. The issue seems to transcend politics, with a Labour councillor getting in touch to discuss how we can try to work together and push both bodies to expedite an alternative as quickly as possible.

As far as I can make out, the reason for the decision to drop plans for a new super surgery lie in the NHS’s judgement that the new site no longer offered value for money. A business case had been submitted to the NHS that outlined plans for Ipswich Borough Council to build the new surgery on land that it already owned, and then lease it back to the practice via the NHS. However, due to inflated costs of delivery, cost of construction, interest rates and rent, plans were blocked.

Now, we should respect any public body’s responsibility to not overpay or behave exuberantly with the taxpayer’s money. At the end of the day, GP surgeries and hospitals are ultimately paid for from our taxes. Taxpayers are entitled to not being ripped off. However, what makes this mess regarding Cardinal Medical Practice, a particularly bitter pill to swallow, is the fact the whole process is so slow and bureaucratic.

Many residents who contacted me were furious that NHS leadership seemed to care so little. They are angry with a system that is so opaque. They had been promised a new super surgery four years ago, yet nothing seems to have happened. The residents of Needham Market have also waited to hear plans to expand local capacity for what seems like an eternity. Frankly, people are right to be angry. Why, in 2024, should such an important piece of social infrastructure get caught up in paperwork?

It is for this reason that I stood up in the House of Commons during Health Questions and asked for a meeting with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The response I got back was overtly political, with the Minister for Health Stephen Kinnock quick to blame problems on the last Government. After that disappointment I have followed up with a letter this week, again requesting a meeting with the relevant officials, so that we can unblock the jam to find an alternative. I am hopeful that we will get a meeting soon and force the NHS to fast-track a new business case that can be accepted quickly in the case of the North Ipswich “super surgery” with work on re-development starting soon.

But I understand the situation is unacceptable. Nor is it unique to Suffolk. It seems as though the public pay more in tax every year, and yet the quality of public services doesn’t improve. Whether it is accessing a GP or dentist, getting an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for a child with SEND, navigating our welfare system, or trying to get help from the Environment Agency with flood protection, too many people find our public sector difficult to navigate, unresponsive and bureaucratic. I also understand that this is on us in Westminster to fix. This is not about Left or Right, and it will take longer than a generation to solve. But we owe it to our constituents to do a better job delivering the very basic services that we all need and require. The status quo is not good enough.

I don’t have all the answers, but I do know they will include root and branch reform of how we do things. We should empower people with the knowledge locally to make quick decisions that are in the best interests of residents. We should crack down on needless levels of bureaucracy and we need to make sure every penny of taxpayer’s funds finds its way to front line delivery of services.

Patrick Spencer is Conservative MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich