The Peckwater Centre in Kentish Town

GPs have come together to oppose plans to boot out a range of social care and health workers from a pioneering health centre.

Dr Kevin Clarkson, a partner at the Caversham Practice in Kentish Town, said a transformation of the Peckwater Centre would strip the borough of a “jewel in the crown” of the health service.

The centre – which has a range of social care and health services under one site working alongside GPs – was fought for by residents and doctors in a campaign more than 25 years ago.

Saying he was speaking as a representative of all GPs in Kentish Town, Dr Clarkson said: “In an usual move we have come together as we are so clear we oppose the loss of this jewel in the crown of primary care estate. We should be colocating GPs and social workers and community support teams and building around these services where they are based. We have group consultation space, a gym, a garden, it’s fantastic. This is the only site we have to deliver this colocated service.”

He added: “It comes down to money at the end of the day. We stand strongly against a loss of a resource we will not get back.”

The concept of “integrating” a range of health and social care services alongside a GP surgery, as is done at the Peckwater, has been one of the stated aims of the NHS in recent years.

But North London health chiefs told a scrutiny meeting last week “the only option” was to shut it down because they can’t find another home for a dialysis unit at St Pancras Hospital. The St Pancras Hospital site is being redeveloped in a scheme that has caused disruption to some of the most vulnerable patients in the borough.

Caversham GP patient rep Roderick Allison said: “There has been no assessment of the impact on the more vulnerable and those with disabilities. It’s not possible to say where they would be dispersed to. There has been no consultation, none at all. It’s a cheap, penny-pinching option.”

As part of the St Pancras Hospital redevelopment, severely ill mental health inpatients are being moved into a new facility next to the Whittington in Highgate. Other services are moving into community facilities in Camden and Islington.

But despite the St Pancras programme being running for several years, no concrete proposals have been suggested for a new home for important Mary Rankin Dialysis Unit, which is used by dozens of patients daily.

Alison Edgington, programme director of the St Pancras Transformation Programme, told the meeting: “Although Peckwater has been mooted as an option for some years, we have now got to the point when we think it is the only option. One of the difficulties we face is finding affordable accommodation in London. Our preference is always to identify the best locations at the best cost. Cost is a factor.”

She added that the NHS was “on a quest to make sure services remain local and accessible to patients”, adding: “We want people to feel this is a welcome addition to the community rather than seeing it as an unwelcome addition.”

Cllr Larraine Revah, chair of the scrutiny committee, said: “It feels like it’s a done deal. But people have not been consulted.”

Cllr Anna Wright described the change as “a loss of opportunity”, adding: “I can see the value of dialysis embedded in a community services, but alongside other community services.”