DELAYS in delivering primary healthcare centres in Thurrock ahead of the closure of Orsett Hospital have been branded a "betrayal" of residents.

The long-running and much-delayed saga of four planned integrated medical centres in Thurrock continues to frustrate local councillors, campaigners and resdients and there seems no immediate prospect of delivery of a promise that they would be completed before Orsett Hospital is closed.

Tiffany Hemming, interim executive director of oversight, assurance and delivery for Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board told Thurrock's health and wellbeing overview and scrutiny committee that existing units at Thurrock Community Hospital have been earmarked for the Grays Integrated Medical and Wellbeing Centre, rather than the promised, purpose-built facility.

This will reduce the cost from £30million to £16million but funding is still to be found for the second of four promised centres following the opening of a centre at Corringham last year.

Funding has been agreed for a community diagnostic centre to be built adjacent to refurbished community hospital and is expected to open in 2024.

Ms Hemming said an urgent care treatment centre would also open at the Grays centre by the winter of 2024/25.

The remaining planned centres at Purfleet and Tilbury and are still awaiting funding approval by NHS England and the closure of Orsett hospital is now delayed beyond 2025. Just one of the four centre, Corringham, has been built.

Ms Hemming said: "The closure of Orsett Hospital is now dependent primarily on the funding of Grays IMWC and also the NHS England business cases for Tilbury and Purfleet.

"The Purfleet business case was submitted ten months ago. Orsett Hospital is unlikely to close in 2025, however, the current plan is closure will be sequential so we can move services away from the site and into the community."

Committee chairman Cllr Shane Ralph, said: "You're saying to shut Orsett Hospital you don't have to build the centres, you just have to move the services into Thurrock."

Ms Hemming responded: "That's one way of reading it."

Cllr Jane Pothecary said: "We're seeing a shift in the idea from you will have four medical centres in buildings specifically designed for this purpose, to replace Orsett Hospital, to putting the services in somewhere in Thurrock at some point.

"That is a betrayal of the people of Thurrock because we were told repeatedly, loudly and consistently Orsett Hospital would only close once there were four integrated medical centres built and opened. That is what the people of Thurrock were promised in exchange for losing our hospital.

"It's absolutely scandalous that there is anybody trying to back away from that commitment."