CALLS have been made for a health centre to be built at Wallyford to cope with the huge influx of new housing around the village.

Wallyford Community Council has stressed the need for a new doctors’ surgery to meet the needs of residents and the issue was also highlighted at a meeting of Musselburgh and Inveresk Community Council last week.

But East Lothian’s health chief David Small has stated that there are no plans to create a new health centre at Wallyford as there is enough room at Musselburgh Primary Care Centre and new clinical practitioners are already being recruited to meet growing demand.

The total number of new homes approved for Wallyford, including the St Clements Wells site, is about 2,050, with a new development also planned for land at Whitecraig.

Wallyford Community Council felt that it would be a “missed opportunity” not to have a modern health centre on the south side of Musselburgh funded by developers’ contributions, as was the case with new schools planned for the area.

Community councillors, in a joint statement, said: “Wallyford is about to triple in size and, with a current population in excess of 3,000 inhabitants, this could potentially grow to 9,000 inhabitants, turning our village into a small town.

“Currently people from Wallyford have to travel to Musselburgh to the health practices there and many experience difficulty in obtaining an appointment to see a doctor depending on the severity of the specific ailment.

“This is far from appropriate for our local area and many people who need vital attention can wait for days and even weeks to see a doctor.

"This arrangement is already under strain and the influx of major housing developments being granted in Wallyford and Musselburgh will only exacerbate the difficulties that residents in the Musselburgh cluster already experience.

“It is our opinion that Wallyford needs its own health centre to cope with the expanding needs of its community and relieve the pressure on the current practices in Musselburgh -  local health practice for a local community, accessible to those who struggle to get to Musselburgh.”

Members of Musselburgh and Inveresk Community Council raised the issue during a discussion about the large number of new houses proposed for the Musselburgh area including 190 at Galt Terrace.

Catherine McArthur said the two medical practices of Riverside and Eskbridge at the Musselburgh Primary Care Centre were merging to have 19,000 patients, making it the second largest practice in the Lothians.

“With all the houses for Wallyford, what’s happening there, are they building a medical practice there?” she questioned.

Councillor Stuart Currie said he had been told that the primary care centre could take up to 30,000 patients which encompassed the whole of Wallyford.

He commented: “If you have settlements of 2,000/3,000 houses surely they need a doctors’ surgery.

"It’s not whether you can get an appointment, it’s getting to the surgery, for example, if you are in Whitecraig, are not well and don’t have a car. The other thing is that your are almost forced into the car and you are trying to stop cars going into the town centre.”

Mr Currie explained that he has raised, at planning committee meetings, about developers contributing financially for medical services.

He said he was told that health and social care representatives were asked for their opinion and they were not asking for any developers’ contributions. 

David Small, East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership director, told the Courier: “This issue was also discussed last week with the Eskbridge Medical Practice Patient Participation Group.

"Musselburgh Primary Care Centre was designed to have sufficient space to cope with patients from the new housing.

"One of the reasons for creating an enhanced practice at Riverside Medical Practice is that it will enable us to cope with this increasing demand by keeping practice lists open and allowing doctors to be recruited.

"The Musselburgh Primary Care Access Service will also play a key role.

"We are already recruiting new clinical practitioners for MPCAS to help meet growing demand.

“The current situation regarding contributions for NHS facilities provision has been considered in the draft Local Development Plan and for the first time East Lothian Council is proposing to seek such contributions in the future.

"The Wallyford housing development does not require any contributions to NHS facilities since the Musselburgh Primary Care Centre already has sufficient space.”