Limited physical space at the Firs House surgeries in Histon and Cottenham has led them to apply for a change to the catchment boundary within which they provide medical services.
The calculation of a practice’s physical capacity to manage its patient list looks at patient population size compared with its internal area.
Calculations for Firs House Surgery, including the branch location in Cottenham, indicate that they already lack 338m2 of space, and therefore do not even have the recommended capacity or resources to maintain their existing property at present, let alone accommodate growth.
Implications
If the application is approved by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care board, residents of properties built for Phase 3A of the Northstowe development would not be eligible to join the practice.
No decision about the application has been made yet, but if it is approved, any residents currently registered with Firs House will remain registered, regardless of whether they are outside any new boundaries, unless a house move takes them outside the new boundary.
