THE long-awaited merger of Knutsford’s three GP practices will go ahead in April, but finding a health centre to house them is facing a new crunch deadline.

The three surgeries – Annandale Medical Centre, Manchester Road Medical Centre and Toft Road Surgery – will join forces to become Knutsford Medical Partnership (KMP) from April 1, 2020.

Housing all three in a single health and wellbeing hub was first mooted more than a decade ago and dubbed a ‘super surgery’ by then-MP George Osborne.

An NHS England Estates and Technology Transformation Fund (ETTF) request for the move was initially approved by the NHS before the decision was reversed in 2018, leaving the project on shaky ground.

And now, a fresh funding application looks to be make or break, with Annandale patients facing losing their surgery when a lease of the Mobberley Road premises expires in 2024.

Dr Patrick Kearns, GP partner with Manchester Road Medical Centre, said: “For some years the Knutsford practices have shared an ambition to build a new GP Health Centre to house the three practices.

“The current sites need significant development to meet current and future requirements. A joint [ETTF] bid for capital monies is under consideration.

“In the meantime, the Knutsford practices continue to work with NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG to identify potential additional funding streams as a contingency.

“The ambition remains to build a new health centre before May 2024 when a five-year lease on the premises occupied by Annandale Medical Centre ends.”

The Annandale building was taken over by a new landlord earlier this year, and it is thought they intend to redevelop the site when the lease expires.

Should the health and wellbeing centre project not be completed by then, this would leave Annandale without a premises – a problem exacerbated by an expected 2,000 patient increase across town over the next decade.

A Primary Care Commissioning Committee report considered last week said: “There is a risk that if the new combined GP Health Centre is not built and operational within the next five years then Annandale will lose its premises.

“This risks the practice population having reduced access to primary care services. Due to limited additional capacity in neighbouring GP practices this could lead to some patients being unable to adequately access primary care services for an extended period of time.”

In the meantime, the three surgeries will work together in their individual premises, with patients set to see KMP processes gradually change.

Dr Kearns added: “The merged practice will continue to use the existing premises but will work together behind the scenes as a single business.

“Patients will still be seen in their usual surgery at first, but the plans will eventually allow patients to have appointments in any of the surgeries and with a wider range of healthcare professionals, including pharmacists and physiotherapists.

“Many of our patients have increasingly complex health needs and therefore require care that can no longer be delivered via traditional general practice alone. Working in a larger organisation will help our GPs to work in a more joined-up way with a wider range of health and social care colleagues.

“Merging the practices will enable many processes to happen once rather than three times, releasing clinicians to spend more time with patients.

“Patients who want to will continue to be able to see their usual doctor. The merger will allow staff to be used more flexibly and pave the way for new roles tailored to areas of expertise.

“In turn, the creation of diverse roles will make it easier to attract staff and meet the challenge arising from difficulties in recruiting GPs.

“Patient records will be merged into a single, secure database while NHS safeguards on confidentiality of patient data will remain in place throughout the transition.”