Surgery reopens after Storm Claudia

MONMOUTH’S Castle Gate Medical Practice has officially reopened after closing for several months following Storm Claudia, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the GP surgery.

The reopening took place on Saturday, July 25, and was attended by members of the community, staff and the Mayor of Monmouth, Councillor Rob Barrell who officially cut the ribbon.

The event gave patients the opportunity to tour the newly refurbished medical practice, which underwent extensive restoration work in the lead up to its opening.

The community were also treated to an array of snacks, cakes and refreshments while having the opportunity to speak with GP’s and staff about the practice’s long journey and the challenges which were faced along the way.

Mayor of Monmouth, Councillor Rob Barrell, said: “Thank you very much for battling through for the last eight months. It must have been really difficult to be moved out of your home and have to go into various other places, but you still did it and managed to keep going and serve the community and for that everybody is really grateful.”

Local resident, Phil Pearce, said: I am really pleased to be here today. It is absolutely amazing. I am also a local paramedic, so it’s nice to see it from that aspect. I wish the doctors and staff the very best for the future.”

The Beacon spoke to Dr Spencer Goodwin, Senior Parter at Castle Gate Medical Practice about the recovery process.

“We ended up being about a metre under water here and the building remained under water until it had drained out, which took quite a few days,” said Dr Goodwin.

“The fire service were pumping out water for two or three days afterwards.

“Our insurers which came to assess it and recommended a company to dry it out. We had to remove all the plaster until up about one and half metres on all the walls, and we had to have a new floor in. Once everything had been removed from the building, we then had to put dryers in, and those dryers ran for 24 hours a day for about four weeks.

“It was only the end of January the building was dry and since then the rebuild has been happening.

“We have upgraded the practice so we’re more resilient to flooding. We had the opportunity to upgrade and move rooms around. We got a new consulting room and we have reconfigured our front desk area and moved our dispensary so it’s bigger.

“It’s not finished yet; there are still things that need to be done outside.”

The practice had hoped to move back into the building around Easter, but unexpected challenges during the restoration work delayed the reopening.

This is positive news for the medical practice and for Monmouth residents, who will be able to benefit from the new facilities and step inside the newly refurbished building. It also marks another important milestone for the town’s recovery, with another business returning after Storm Claudia.