ELDERLY residents in Gerrards Cross who are forced to travel to a neighbouring village to visit the doctor have given a cautious welcome to new proposals from a health organisation.

A locally based nurse-led clinic and retained GP services in residential homes in Gerrards Cross could be on the cards after recommendations made in a draft copy of a report compiled from a questionnaire commissioned by the Chiltern and South Bucks Primary Care Group (PCG).

Other proposals in the report are improved public transport links from Gerrards Cross to the surgery in Chalfont St Peter, and the subsidising of a voluntary car scheme.

Residents in Gerrards Cross have long campaigned for a surgery in the village, which is the largest community in South Bucks not to have one.

The nearest GPs are based at tghe Chalfont and Gerrards Cross Health Clinic in Hampden Road, Chalfont St Peter.

The lack of a surgery has provoked outrage in the community, and led Age Concern to call a well-attended public meeting last year to discuss the problem.

The questionnaire to judge the need for a GP in the village was piloted by the Chiltern and South Bucks PCG, Age Concern and the South Bucks Volunteer Bureau.

The results of the survey have indicated there is not sufficient need to justify building a new surgery in the village, but the recommendations put forward have been welcomed by Shirley Moore, of Age Concern.

She said: "The recommend-ations go quite a long way towards helping the older residents in Gerrards Cross."

She did, however, cite some problems in improving the transport links, saying that bus timetables would need to be carefully co-ordinated.

She added: "Already there is difficulty in finding drivers for a voluntary car scheme to take elderly residents to the day centre in Chalfont St Peter."

Steve Young, chief executive of Chiltern and South Bucks PCG, said: "We are very keen to use the local residential homes better by working with social services.

"We would like to look into the nursing clinic in Gerrards Cross but we need to look at safety issues surrounding that idea with a nurse on her own in a clinic.

"We will also look to carefully co-ordinate the bus services from Gerrards Cross to the centre in Chalfont St Peter."