Fresh fears over collapse of One Norwich Practices group

The collapse of One Norwich Practices (ONP) - which runs the centre, as well as Norwich's busiest GP practice and other services - has left NHS bosses scrambling to find replacements.

An exact timescale of the winding down of the company is yet to be revealed, but NHS leaders insist work is being done "at pace" to find providers to replace all of ONP's services before the company closes.

But in the meantime, it is understood its 190-strong workforce has been told the organisation only has enough money to pay wages until the end of this month.

One whistleblower at the firm said: “Lots of staff are working in floods of tears, we are all trying to look after one another but it is affecting our wellbeing."

The uncertainty has heightened concerns about whether NHS bosses will be able to seamlessly replace the services offered by the firm.

As well as running the walk-in centre - which sees hundreds of patients a day - ONP also operates the neighbouring GP surgery on Rouen Road, with more than 10,000 patients, and provides health services for vulnerable adults and refugees.

Alex Stewart, chief executive of Healthwatch Norfolk (Image: Healthwatch Norfolk)

Alex Stewart, chief executive of Healthwatch Norfolk - which represents patients' interests - said: "The organisation ensures vital services for people, with the Norwich walk-in centre alone seeing around 250 patients daily.

"That capacity cannot be absorbed elsewhere in the health and care system and that is just one strand of One Norwich's work.

"Maintaining patient care and ensuring people know how to access it remains paramount."

Since the closure announcement last week, meetings with staff have been taking place to keep them informed, while discussions are ongoing to find replacement providers.

Paul Wood, ONP's interim chief executive, said: "We would like to reassure our staff that their welfare and fair treatment throughout this process is our priority.

"If they have any concerns, we encourage them to speak to their line manager or the HR team."

Lesley Luscher, of Unison, which represents some of the staff, said: "One Norwich Practices staff face a bleak winter. As the rest of the country gears up for Christmas, they're left wondering if they'll have a job come December.

"But staff are continuing to work through the uncertainty, they're committed to providing their vital services to patients in Norwich and want to keep doing it.

"It is now essential a new provider can be found to safeguard services and save these jobs - the alternative is a major hit to healthcare in Norwich while the taxpayer may be left picking up the bill for a swathe of redundancies."

A spokesman for NHS Norfolk and Waveney said: "The ICB is continuing to work closely with One Norwich Practices on the development of service transfer plans so that as many staff as possible are transferred over to a new provider or providers.

"Our priority at this time is to minimise the level of disruption to patients during the transition to new provider(s) and to work with ONP in supporting their staff through this challenging transition period."

The company has enlisted insolvency company Poppleton and Appleby to assist with winding it down "in the coming months".

Meanwhile, calls have been made to hold an inquiry into how the organisation's financial struggles came about.

Green Party councillor Lucy Galvin (Image: Submitted)

Lucy Galvin, a Green Party councillor on Norwich City Council, has written to health secretary Steve Barclay calling for the situation to be investigated.

She said: "The directors of One Norwich have questions to answer about how this collapse came about, when the problems were first known, and who will be held to account."