PRESS RELEASE:
Strict Embargo: 00:01 Friday 11th September 2015
East Midlands GP practices merge to create
100,000+ patients ‘Vanguard Super-Practice’
Today GP practices in Stamford, Oundle, Kettering and Corby have announced
that they are to merge creating the largest single GP practice in the NHS.
St Marys Medical Centre, Sheepmarket Surgery and Little Surgery in Stamford and
Oundle Medical Practice are to merge with Lakeside Healthcare, which operates
surgeries in Corby, Kettering and Brigstock.
The ‘super-practice’ will serve the healthcare needs of over 100,000 patients across
four counties – Northamptonshire, Rutland, Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire
The merger creates a new model of primary care organisation that is better able to
thrive in the times ahead and a model that the government is actively supporting.
Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health speaking of the ‘New Models of Care’
said:
"This is a pivotal moment for the NHS and supports the Government's long-term plan
to deliver more joined-up, proactive, personalised care for our most vulnerable.
"By integrating services and moving more care closer to people's homes, we can
ensure efficient spending and prevent unnecessary trips to hospital for the frail
elderly and people with long-term conditions."
Dr Miles Langdon, Partner of St Mary’s Medical Centre, Stamford said:
“This merger ensures that we shall be able to continue to provide the same level of
excellent care to our patients that we believe they deserve; the same or better levels
of access; and offer more services in the future. It is truly an exciting development.”
Dr Angus Macdonald, Partner of Sheepmarket Surgery, Stamford said:
“This merger is all about putting patients first and ensuring that we continue to
provide the very best service we can. We believe this merger presents a great
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opportunity to develop the Stamford Hospital site into a community healthcare
campus along the lines planned for Corby, which shall significantly increase the
number of services we can offer”
Dr Mike Richardson, Partner of Oundle Medical Practice, said:
“Being part of a much bigger practice means that we shall be able to attract, recruit
and retain the very best doctors and healthcare professionasl to our area because
we shall be able to offer them a varied and exciting career. This is great news for
our patients because elsewhere in our county and across the country there are
growing numbers of unfilled GP vacancies”
Dr John Fields, Partner of The Little Surgery, Stamford said:
“For many years we have prided ourselves on the dedicated service we have
provided to our patients. Our patients are accustomed to a personalised service. We
see this merger as an opportunity to improve our ability to provide greater continuity
of care to our most vulnerable patients whilst at the same time ensuring we maintain
great overall service access for all our patients”
Prof. Robert Harris, Partner of Lakeside Healthcare, Corby said:
“We want to deliver the very best out-of-hospital care for our patients. By bringing
together these excellent practices we are uniquely positioned as the largest practice
in the NHS, to build a very different type of GP service – one that can cater for the
increasingly complex needs of our most vulnerable patients. This is a very good
thing”
Lakeside Healthcare had already been appointed as one of only 14 ‘Multispecialty
Community Provider Vanguards’ across the country by NHS England and the
government to develop ‘New Models of Care’. Those practices joining with Lakeside
shall similarly benefit from this national status and the support that comes with the
responsibility. In addition, the practice that covers the Rothwell & Desborough areas
of Northamptonshire is also part of the greater Lakeside Vanguard Programme and
serves an additional population in excess of 20,000 patients.
Lakeside Healthcare as the super-practice is branded will proactively support the
specialist hospitals in the area, including University Hospitals of Leicester and
Peterborough & Stamford Hospital as well as Kettering and Northampton Hospitals.
Lakeside Healthcare also has a growing role in the teaching and training of medical
students in the region in conjunction with University of Leicester Medical School and
de Montfort University.
Ultimately, the expanded organisation will provide a service that will meet the health
and care needs of 300,000 patients across the East Midlands.
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Lakeside Healthcare stresses that no existing clinics or premises will be closed and
that with more finance available, there are plans for additional investment in
premises, staff and technology and more home visiting services for the housebound,
all of which will benefit patients going forwards.
Ends
For enquiries on the merger:
Lakeside Healthcare Press Office: Sam Clarke
samclarke@nhs.net 01536 748202
Notes to Editors:


The present patient numbers of each practice are:
Lakeside, Corby
47,876
Lakeside, Kettering
10,214
Oundle
10,821
Stamford Little Surgery
3,906
Stamford Sheepmarket
13,946
Stamford St Mary’s
13,447
Lakeside HealthcareTotal
100,210
Rothwell & Desborough
20,381
Lakeside Vanguard Total
120,591
The recently published NHS England’ Five Year Forward View’ describes a new
model of care called Multispecialty Community Providers (MCPs). The Lakeside
Healthcare MCP model fits and supports the NHS England vision of the future of
primary care.

The MCP model means primary care (GP practices) being the focal point for a
greater array of services delivered to an identified group of patients. Some of this
may be delivered at an agreed price; some may be delivered on a capitated, at risk,
population basis.

Lakeside Healthcare is developing new ‘extensivist’ services, proactively targeting
services at registered patients with complex ongoing needs such as the frail elderly
or those with long term conditions, and working much more intensively with these
patients designing and delivering more personal packages of care.
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