Health bosses and council officials are going back to the drawing board after plans for a new £7.5m Cardinal Medical Practice 'super surgery' in northwest Ipswich were scrapped due to "rising costs".
The proposed development at the former Tooks Bakery site was meant to improve primary care facilities in northwest Ipswich following consistent challenges at Cardinal Medical Practice surgeries.
However, Ipswich Borough Council have scrapped the plans, citing significant cost increases over the past three years.
The NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board and Ipswich Borough Council expressed deep disappointment but remain committed to finding an alternative solution.
A meeting is scheduled next week with the GP practice to discuss potential options.
Ipswich Borough Council will withdraw its planning application for the site.
Why it matters
This setback comes amid ongoing concerns about primary care provision in northwest Ipswich.
Cardinal Medical Practice, formed in 2021 by merging three surgeries, has faced persistent issues since its inception and is currently rated as Ipswich's worst GP practice.
A Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in May 2022 rated the practice as "Requires Improvement" overall.
More than two years after the damning CQC inspection in May 2022, the GP Patient Survey, published in July 2024, revealed that Cardinal Medical Practice continues to underperform in several key areas compared to national averages.
What they're saying
A joint statement from the NHS and council said:
“The NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board and Ipswich Borough Council are deeply disappointed that the full relocation and new build plan at the Tooks site has now become unaffordable to the NHS and its partners, with costs having increased significantly over the past three years.
“Despite this setback we remain determined to work in partnership to find an alternative, affordable solution that will deliver improved primary care facilities for the patients and practice team in north west Ipswich.”
A long line of broken commitments
Local health bosses and MPs have consistently let down over 30,000 patients at Cardinal Medical Practice since issues were first raised about the practice in September 2021 in a letter from Dr Dan Poulter, the then-MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.
In October 2021, David Brown, deputy chief operating officer of the CCG, reported some improvements, saying, "We are definitely starting to see an improved position. The waits have reduced dramatically," but no evidence was given to support these claims.
Seven months later, in May 2022, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the practice and rated it as "Requires improvement," contradicting the CCG's claims.
Following an investigation into the practice by Ipswich.co.uk in August 2024:
The CQC committed to reinspecting the practice. It hasn't.
Ipswich MP Jack Abbott committed to "engaging with both the Practice and CQC to ensure the access to care is at the level which patients, rightly, expect and deserve." He hasn't.
Patrick Spencer, MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, told Ipswich.co.uk, "We are still waiting for delivery of the new 'super surgery' which will deliver improved services for residents and I will be meeting with Suffolk and North East Essex [ICB] as a priority to understand what more needs to be done to get this surgery over the line." He hasn't.
The bottom line
The scrapping of the Tooks site plan is a major blow for the 30,000+ people who rely on it for their primary care needs.
The NHS is exploring other options to improve primary care facilities in northwest Ipswich, and details will be announced soon.
In the meantime, we call on the CQC to expedite its previous commitment to re-inspecting Cardinal Medical Practice, given that no alternative solution is in sight anymore.
