Letters have been sent to patients as two GP surgeries are set to merge amid 'significant sustainability issues'. 

Marlow Medical Group wrote to its patients in the last week to announce plans to merge with Cherrymead Surgery in Loudwater. 

The move is expected to deliver a better service after the Loudwater GP identified "significant sustainability issues" in only having two partners. 

The practice will now become a branch surgery of Marlow Medical Group (MMG) in April 2025, though patients have been told this will have little impact on them. 

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In a letter sent out this month, MMG said: "We anticipate that this will have very little impact (if any) on our currently registered patients as Cherrymead Surgery will run separately as another branch surgery, like Lane End and Hambledon do already. 

"We do anticipate that being part of a larger group affords us more sustainability in an increasingly pressurised NHS General Practice sector. 

"The move to larger GP provider groups has long been endorsed by NHS England with networks of geographically co-located practices working closely together since 2019 as Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and Integrated Neighbourhood Teams being the next large, planned transformation for all our local services. 

"Cherrymead Surgery is already one of the six practices of our PCN, called Arc Bucks, and comes with its own existing team and resources. 

"We hope that being part of a larger group allows greater opportunities of scale and ultimately better services and opportunities."

The health provider is being supported in the merger by the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board which is responsible for managing contracts. 

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This is expected to help ensure that there is "minimum disruption" to services. 

Answering questions about the merger, the practice confirmed the Cherrymead Surgery will not close adding that the current staff will transfer to the larger group. 

The combined Practice will serve 39,000 patients across four sites and patients are expected to benefit from "additional service and greater flexibility when making appointments".

The move has already been discussed with the GP practice's Patient Participation Group members who have asked questions from the point of view of patients. 

The practice has committed to consulting closely with patients during the merger. 

More information can be found on the Marlow Medical Group website.