Dawn Butler MP has launched a petition saying the night closure of a Park Royal urgent care centre is “an act of wilful neglect”.

Brent & Kilburn Times: Dawn Butler MP for Brent CentralDawn Butler MP for Brent Central (Image: Archant)

Brent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has agreed to slash the hours of midnight to 8am at the Brent Urgent Care Centre in Central Middlessex Hospital, which will save it "in the region of £450,000" a year.

The Brent Central MP has condemned the move highlighting its impact on low income families in the south of the borough.

In a letter to the CCG chair Dr Madhukar Patel, Ms Butler specifically cites excessive travel times and costs with it taking up to an hour and 13 minutes to travel by bus to other nearby health facilities.

Opposing the closure she said: "It is not reasonable to expect my constituents to travel in the dead of night to either Charing Cross or Northwick Park Hospital at considerable cost especially at a time when so many are struggling to make ends meet."

In its report the CCG said it had been in discussion with Greenbrook Healthcare, the service provider, about proposed changes after a survey revealed an "average night time attendance" of "around one patient visiting per hour".

The Central Middlesex Hospital's A&E was closed in 2014 despite huge opposition as part of the NHS Shaping a Healthier Future programme.

The MP said she had visited the centre at night and found the proposal "unpalatable" adding: "I have seen during my time as the Member of Parliament for Brent South and subsequently Brent Central a sustained reduction in the level of health services that are offered to my constituents in the south of Brent.

"This area covers Harlesden and Stonebridge which(...) are amongst the poorest areas of the borough and so too in London as a whole."

The MP has also called for the CCG to restart the process with a public consultation.

A spokesperson for the CCG said: "The CMH Urgent Care Centre will still be open for 16 hours a day which is in line with the national 'Urgent Treatment Centres- Principles and Standards (July 2017)' guidance, which at a minimum must operate for at least 12 hours per day."

To sign the petition visit: dawnbutler.org.uk/central-middlesex-petition/