Following the public comments by Lorna Jones (one of the Trustees of Coven Memorial Hall) in a recent PPG meeting, we feel it vital to ensure that the facts are made public and to ensure full transparency. The following are links to relevant information. The links will be updated in due course and more information in time.
The Old FAQ’s are below for reference:
Coven Memorial Hall
Will the Medical Room in Coven open again?
As of January 2025, we are waiting for the Integrated Care Board (ICB) to conduct a feedback exercise and look at what the need in Coven for a facility is. Once they have undertaken this exercise, we will be in a better position to understand what is needed and what can be provided. We will then need to understand what Coven Memorial Hall are able to do to bring the room/facility up to the required standard.
Coven Surgery: Setting the Record Straight
11th November 2025
Coven Surgery: Setting the Record Straight, Including and an Open Request to the Trustees of the Coven Memorial Hall
Brewood Medical Practice wishes to clarify its position following statements recorded in recent PPG minutes concerning the reinstatement of a surgery in Coven.
We remain fully committed to restoring healthcare provision in Coven. Any new or reinstated facility, however, must be safe, sustainable, and compliant with NHS and CQC standards.
Background and Current Situation
For several months, the Practice has sought to work collaboratively with the Trustees of Coven Memorial Hall to identify a viable route forward. Unfortunately, despite repeated efforts, the Trustees have not been willing to bring the existing rooms up to the required clinical standard. The space continues to fall short of infection control and safety requirements, which prevents its lawful or safe use for NHS care.
The Practice therefore proposed a practical alternative: the siting of a modular building (Portakabin-type unit) on an area of hard standing within the Hall grounds. This would have been fully funded by the partners of the Practice, with no cost to the public for the purchase or siting of the structures. However, the Trustees declined this reasonable proposal and instead offered a strip of land beside the brook, an area unsuitable for construction due to waterlogging and subsidence risk.
Furthermore, the Trustees proposed a seven-year lease, which provides no long-term security. When this concern was raised, one of the Trustees replied that the Practice could simply “take the building with you” at the end of the term. This comment demonstrates the difficulty the partners have faced in trying to agree fair and sustainable terms for the benefit of Coven patients.
It should also be noted that, even whilst the medical rooms at Coven Memorial Hall have been out of use, the Hall has continued to receive rental payments above the NHS valuation for the space. These additional payments have been personally subsidised by the partners of the Practice, in good faith and in support of maintaining a presence in Coven. Those funds could reasonably be reinvested by the Trustees to bring the facility up to the required standard.
Practice’s Position
Brewood Medical Practice remains willing and eager to provide services in Coven. The partners continue to support the modular building solution, which is the quickest, safest, and most cost-effective way to restore care locally.
Given the Trustees’ apparent reluctance to permit this on suitable hardstanding, the partners are now exploring an alternative configuration that could utilise the grass area in front of the Memorial Hall. This would comprise a modular Portakabin for clinical rooms and a lightweight adjoining structure to act as the reception and waiting area. This approach could be installed with minimal disruption and removed if necessary, ensuring flexibility and full reversibility.
The partners will shortly be writing formally to the Trustees with this proposal.
Rebutting Mischaracterisations
It has been suggested in public records that the Practice, or Dr Ahmed personally, has been difficult to deal with. This is untrue. The difficulty arises only because the proposals offered so far have been impractical, non-compliant, or commercially unviable. The Practice has remained courteous, transparent, and focused on solutions throughout, seeking only to secure safe and sustainable healthcare provision for Coven residents.
Next Steps
We call upon the Trustees to re-engage constructively, either by:
- Bringing the existing premises up to full regulatory standard, or
- Agreeing reasonable lease terms and site use for a modular facility.
The partners of Brewood Medical Practice stand ready to progress either option without delay, in partnership with the ICB and other stakeholders. Our only objective is to see Coven patients once again receive the accessible, high-quality care they deserve.