SANDIWAY Surgery will remain closed until next Wednesday as Covid cases have affected a number of staff members across the Danebridge group.

The group includes Sandiway Surgery, Danebridge Medical Practice and Kingsmead Medical Centre, where Northwich’s Covid-19 vaccinations are being administered.

A decision was taken to close Sandiway Surgery last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday due to staffing pressures across its sites, but now Danebridge has agreed to keep the site closed until February 3.

In a post on Facebook, a Danebridge spokesman said: “As a practice we currently have a significant number of colleagues who are absent or self-isolating due to Covid-19.

“Due to this, we are finding it increasingly difficult to deliver our services safely from three locations.

“We have taken the difficult decision to temporarily close Sandiway Surgery until Wednesday, February 3, 2021.

“This enables us to be able to resource our locations appropriately and ensure that the Covid-19 vaccination clinics will continue to run.”

Sandiway Surgery has recently been running as an appointment-only service for shielding patients, but Danebridge says these patients will be able to receive safe care at the Danebridge site instead.

Danebridge Medical Practice, in London Road, was evacuated last Thursday due to the flooding following Storm Christoph’s heavy rain.

A limited number of services were transferred to Kingsmead, but the practice has since reopened, having suffered limited damage from the floods.

The next vaccination clinic at Kingsmead will take place next Monday and Tuesday, with residents aged 75 and older being contacted with invitations for this.

A spokesman for Danebridge added: “Lots of people are contacting us to enquire about their Covid vaccination.

“We understand that this is important and we are working as hard as we can to facilitate this monumental vaccination programme.

“We will be expecting another delivery of vaccines shortly and will be able to update you further when we know more information about this.

“Please do not ring the surgery to make enquiries about when your vaccination will be, this is only blocking the phone lines for patients ringing with urgent medical problems.”

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Residents have been campaigning to save Sandiway Surgery from permanent closure in recent years, winning support from Edward Timpson MP last year.

A decision on the surgery’s future is expected to be made by NHS Cheshire clinical commissioning group next month, having deferred the matter from a meeting last November.