Residents have the chance to question GPs on their plans to close the Broad Street walk-in centre.

A drop-in session is being held on Tuesday 23 as part of a 12-week consultation launched closing on May 21.

The plans were announced in February by the Barking and Dagenham Clinical Commissioning Group who say the walk-in centre is not being used in the way originally intended.

Rather than easing pressures on other services, GPs say the centre is being used by patients to gain a second opinion or to save waiting to see their own doctor.

But concerns have been raised by the Barking and Dagenham Partnership’s shadow health and wellbeing board, which highlighted at a meeting earlier this month that the walk-in centre was an “invaluable service”.

Members of the board also questioned whether the proposal was merely financially-driven rather than backed by evidence of better health care provision in Dagenham.

The drop-in session next Tuesday will see GPs on hand to explain their proposals and answer questions from the public.

It will take place at Dagenham Library, Church Elm Lane from 3-7pm.

Barking and Dagenham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Chair, Dr Waseem Mohi, said: “If people see a GP, that GP has access to their records, knows what medicines they have used before and can treat the whole person. This is especially important for treating people who have an ongoing health problem which walk-in centres simply aren’t set up to do.

“We also recognise that some people do wait too long for a GP appointment. To help tackle this, doctors will soon be sharing empty appointment slots, expertise, facilities and equipment so we can help patients to be seen sooner. We’ll also make it easier for people to ‘phone before they go’ and get advice from their surgery about the best thing to do.”