RESIDENTS have expressed fears of being unable to access alternative medical facilities after receiving a letter revealing plans to close Heath End Surgery in Wellington Lane.
The surgery is a branch facility of the Downing Street Practice and currently serves around 4,500 people, but has limited afternoon opening hours and is closed on Wednesdays.
One resident who contacted the Herald said she felt "saddened and angry" by the move, which would be a major inconvenience to the elderly and those without transport.
She said: "The so-called Primary Care Agency is asking sick and elderly people, those in pain and discomfort, disabled and parents with young children, to sit in traffic jams crawling slowly into Farnham to meet the usual centre of town gridlock, find a parking space and pay for the privilege of it."
She added patients at Heath End "deserved better treatment", but had nothing but praise for the standard of care which she had received at the surgery there.
She questioned whether jobs would be lost as a result of the closure plan.
In addition, she expressed concern that the nearby chemist would also lose a good proportion of its trade if the centre were to wind up.
Mary Ingham, the practice manager of Downing Street Surgery, confirmed there will be no job losses should its proposals be accepted by Guildford and Waverley Borough Primary Care Trust.
"We have to go through a process of consultation on this, but there have been quite a few people in favour of it and requesting changes be made.
"It is part of a move to have doctors working in teams, rather than in isolation as do the two partners at Heath End.
"We believe it will mean more stability for the future of our practice and help provide improvements to the service," she added.
She highlighted the fact that the proposal to close the Heath End facility, would enable them to carry out plans to expand the Downing Street practice and enhance its specialist facilities.
These would include an extra treatment room, an extended waiting area and relocating the administrative facilities.
While acknowledging the closure may cause transportation problems for some of its patients, she said that many of them already used the Downing Street Practice.
Waverley borough councillor Willie Marshall, who represents Heath End, said it was for medical authorities to decide the fate of the practice, but recognised residents' concern.
However, he believed that with four of Farnham's five GP practices relocating to the new Farnham Hospital, which is due to open next summer, residents would be able to access the centre there through special bus services.
He was disappointed that Downing Street Surgery had decided against joining in the hospital initiative and was seeking to expand its own centre away from the other practices.
Mr Marshall believed the hospital would provide a high quality and efficient centrally-located medical services for the town's medical needs for at least the next 30 years.