NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has announced that it is writing to patients at six Liverpool GP practices to let them know that the organisation which runs them has given notice on its fixed-term contracts. This leaves the futures of the practices in jeopardy.
Primary Care Connect – a not-for-profit company set up by Liverpool GPs – will stop managing the practices by the end of June 2019 meaning that they could close.
The six Primary Care Connect practices are:
- Primary Care Connect Everton Road
- Primary Care Connect Anfield Health
- Primary Care Connect Garston
- Primary Care Connect Netherley Health Centre
- Primary Care Connect West Speke
- Primary Care Connect Park View
NHS Liverpool CCG, which plans NHS care for the city will make a decision as to whether they will be able to find a provider to continue the running of the practice or whether to transfer patients to practices neaby.
In a statement released today they said “The same approach might not be followed for all six practices ; the CCG’s decision needs to be based on the circumstances of each practice and what is in the best interests of its patients. “
The CCG is currently in the process of writing to all Primary Care Connect patients to explain the steps it is taking to decide what happens next, and invite people to share their views. These letters should arrive in the next week.
Dr Fiona Lemmens, a Liverpool GP and Chair of NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We know that this news will cause concern for patients, and we are working hard to get to a decision about what happens next, so that we minimise any uncertainty.
“For the time being, Primary Care Connect patients should continue to use their practice in exactly the same way they do now – they don’t need to do anything differently or take any immediate action.”
“It’s really important to stress that however we decide to move forward with these practices, all Liverpool patients will continue to have a GP practice. There is no suggestion of reducing GP services in Liverpool; this process is purely about which practices those services are provided from.”
As soon as a final decision has been made the CCG will write to patients again to update them. This is likely to be during March.