A medical centre remains boarded up almost ten months on from an arson attack.
Emergency services were called to Roby Medical Centre, in Huyton, in the early hours of Thursday, February 24. Fire crews found the ground floor well alight and multiple windows smashed.
The fire was extinguished by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and there were no reports of anyone being injured. However, further enquiries found the fire was deliberate and damage was caused to a ground floor window of the building.
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Back in March, the Knowsley NHS Clinical Commissioning Group said they are working with the practice to get services back up and running as soon as possible. Now, almost ten months on, the centre remains boarded up, but temporary arrangements remain in place for current patients.
Alistair Macfarlane, Head of Primary Care for Knowsley, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, confirmed to the ECHO today that there is minimal impact for patients and staff as the practice operates from a temporary premises in Huyton, around 1.4miles away from the Roby Medical Centre site.
The practice team are also currently working with a range of partners to examine available options that will allow a return to operations from Pilch Lane/Roby area as soon as possible.
The attack came less than two weeks after Dr Aman Amir and Erika Howell took over the practice as partners. Speaking previously, they said they were "deeply saddened" by what happened.
They added: "We will be posting regular updates on our website, including estimated timelines for the reopening of the surgery. We took over Roby Medical Centre in January 2022 and had been working hard to double the amount of face-to-face appointments, offer weekend health checks and get to know our patients and their clinical needs.
"Our goals of improving patient access to clinicians at Roby Medical Centre continue across our temporary locations and we hope to be back in the surgery as soon as the necessary clean up and repairs to fire damaged property has been complete. May we take this opportunity to specifically thank our surgery neighbours who took swift action to alert emergency services and contain the fire and to our patients for their understanding and compassion at this time."
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