Marchers who descended on the House of Assembly in a bid to save the closure-threatened Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre in the east end said the service was a vital part of the community.

Raine Burgess, 35, an insurance broker from the area, said: “I have two children that used the urgent care centre numerous times and I have a husband with heart disease.

“I’m here to represent them and their health. It’s an essential service.”

Ms Burgess was speaking as around 100 people marched from the BIU HQ in Hamilton to the House of Assembly yesterday in a bid to save the clinic, scheduled for the axe by the Bermuda Hospitals Board.

Premier Craig Cannonier — who accepted a petition with almost 5,000 signatures from organiser Darlene Rogers — pledged that the clinic would remain open.

Former PLP Government Minister Wayne Perinchief said: “My son lives across the street from the centre. It’s a very important centre which needs to be kept open. It can be made economical to run — you just need the will.”

Louis Ming, from St George’s, a 76-year-old former beverage manager at the airport, said: “I’m here today because I feel the urgent care centre needs to stay open.

“I’ve used it myself often. I need to get my blood tested — I’m a senior and it saves me travelling into Hamilton or to the hospital.

“It’s very important for seniors — it saves them the expense of catching a bus or driving if they are sick. It’s convenient for most east enders.”

St David’s islander Peggy Burns said the clinic could be made profitable by transferring a Hamilton clinic to St David’s and adding a pharmacy, which would replace the one lost when White’s supermarket closed.

She added that GPs could also run their practices from the building, in tandem with the clinic,

Ms Burns said: “The urgent care centre came about as a result of the situation which resulted through Hurricane Fabian, when the bridge got washed away. That could happen again.”

She added that sailing events and motocross events were also held in the area and competitors might need urgent medical care if injured.

Ms Burns said: “It’s a growing community and the airport is next door. We need the centre.”

St David’s MP Lovitta Foggo — who organised a public meeting in support of keeping the clinic — said: “We heard various testimonies at the public meeting about having the clinic there — it was able to save many lives.

“It’s also very strategically placed in terms of providing medical services to people in the eastern area, particularly in situations where we are cut off. It provides a vital service.”