Dear Patient / Patient Relative,
We are writing to you as a patient of Minster Medical Centre / Sheppey Healthy Living Centre (SHLC).
We have been reviewing how best to provide general practice services to Minster Medical Practice’s patients. Providing services across two sites has become increasingly challenging due to workforce constraints, travel and transport limitations, and low patient numbers at SHLC. We are therefore proposing to permanently close our SHLC site and focus our efforts and resources on delivering care from the Minster Medical Centre site, which has been operating successfully while SHLC has been temporarily closed for renovations for the past fifteen months.
During the period SHLC has been closed, we have seen that patients can access care efficiently at Minster. The site offers several benefits that improve patient experience, including:
· Better access to appointments – more routine, urgent, and extended hours appointments are available, giving patients more choice and flexibility.
· More coordinated care – with all staff and services in one location, communication is improved, and care is delivered more efficiently.
· Improved accessibility – Minster Medical Centre is located on a hospital site with free parking and a bus stop directly outside, making it easier to attend appointments compared to SHLC, where traffic, limited parking, and public transport accessibility made attending more difficult.
· Optimised use of resources – appointments and clinical space at Minster are fully utilised, reducing underused appointments and ensuring staff time and expertise are focused where it benefits patients most.
· Enhanced patient experience – a modern, fully accessible environment, with convenient facilities, reduces travel stress and supports safe, high-quality care.
We are writing to get your views on how this proposed closure might affect you. Before making any decisions, we would like to understand how you used our SHLC site and how this permanent change might impact you so that we can take your feedback into account and put in place any additional support you may need.
We will be asking for views in the following ways:
· Patient survey available online to down load, via paper copies in the practice, and by post
· Drop-in events / listening sessions at Minster Medical Centre, where you can speak to staff and the Patient Participation Group (PPG)
· Emails and phone calls to the practice for any questions or comments. Email us at swccg.yourvoice@nhs.net
The engagement period will last for 12 weeks. Following this, you will receive a letter summarising the outcome of the engagement and the next steps. The consultation period ends on the 10th June 2026.
You can also find answers to frequently asked questions about this proposalby following the link SHLC Closure FAQ Final.pdf
Your views are very important to us, and we encourage you to take part so that any decisions are fully informed by our patients’ needs. Please download the patient survey by following the link Patient survey F.docx
Return Options:
· Post your response to:
Minster Medical Group
Sheppey Community Hospital
Plover Road
Minster
Sheerness
Kent
ME12 3LT
· Drop off at Minster Medical Centre reception
· Email your completed survey to swccg.yourvoice@nhs.net
Thank you for your time and support.
Yours sincerely,
Helen Gaylor
Executive Manager
Sheppey Healthy Living Centre