Yes. In the short-term, appointments at both sites will remain the same to provide stability for both practices, their patients and their teams.   

However, we will be reviewing the ways we work over the coming months to best understand how we provide care to patients in the future. We expect the ways of working to be similar for all patients registered across the combined practice eventually.   

Being larger may allow us to develop new services and enable us to manage the demand for appointments across both practices more effectively.   

Yes. The plan is to provide routine care from both sites. However, in the future you could be offered an appointment at either site if this was more convenient or suitable for you. Sometimes a service requires specialist equipment, so some additional services may be offered at one site.  

We will update patients regarding any new services in due course.  

Yes. Until otherwise notified, the existing practice telephone numbers will remain the same. 

Yes. There are no planned staff changes due to this merger, and you should still be able to see or speak to your usual GP or member of our nursing teams. One of the drivers behind this merger is to secure the long-term viability of the practices in Dunston and Teams. 

Yes. There are no plans to stop any services that either practice provides due to the merger

Over the coming months we will identify areas across both practices that could be improved to benefit our patients. Where there is a difference in the care provided we will work to develop a consistent service for all our patients in the future based on best practice.  

We aim to eventually share resources across both sites, be more resilient to the challenges all practices face, and hopefully expand the services that we can provide. The one larger practice would offer a wider range of clinicians for patients to see, some clinicians have additional clinical interests and expertise. The times of appointments may also be more convenient for some patients.  

There are no immediate plans to change practice opening hours. 

No. We will continue to work closely with our community teams as we do now.   

We are not anticipating any changes. The midwives and health visitors are not employed directly by the practices, but we will engage with them to ensure that usual care continues to be provided. 

Yes. Prescriptions will continue to be managed in the same way and you will still be able to use your preferred pharmacy or dispensary service. 

The two practices have similar but not identical boundaries. This may be reviewed over time, and we would communicate directly with any patients who live outside the newly defined area. 

We very much hope that all our patients will continue to use the combined practice for their healthcare in future. If you do prefer to consider other options, a list of other practices near you can be found below, or by visiting this website https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp