Merger plan for six GP surgeries

Six GP practices in Solihull could be merged together after plans were announced for all services to work closer together in the future.

Meadowside Family Health Centre, Blythe Practice, Park Surgery, Tanworth Lane Surgery, Village Surgery and Yew Tree Medical Centre, which covers nearly 20 per cent of the Solihull population, have this week announced a move to share some of their services to improve patient care.

In a joint statement, the practices have said: “The practices are together actively pursuing options for formalising closer joint working, and this may involve merger at some future date. Before deciding upon this, there will be full consultation with everyone who may be involved – patients, practice staff, the public and their representatives. In the shorter term, the practices plan to establish formal arrangements for joint working such as the purchasing of goods, training, sharing of resources and also of acting jointly to bid for new health services in the local area.”

An example of practices working together is patients of every surgery being able to access more specialist clinical support and evening opening hours. Health bosses have given assurances there will be no reduction in service.

Patients will also be able to access the services quicker and more locally, they say.

Read the full story here: http://www.solihullnews.net/news/local-news/merger-plan-solihull-gp-surgeries-6740386.