News – Notification of Merger: Dear Patient,
We wanted to write to you to bring you what we hope will not only be exciting news for your GP practice, but also the people of Chorlton as a whole.
Chorlton Family Practice and Corkland Road Medical Practice have long enjoyed an excellent working relationship, and in recent months have been exploring the possibility of formalising that relationship by merging the two practices and sharing our expertise and resources for the benefit of our patients and the local population.
The agreement is in the process of being authorised by Manchester Health and Care Commissioning group, who oversee General Practice in Manchester, and we are working toward a merger date of 1st October 2021.The plan was also authorised by members of the Chorlton Family Practice Patient Participation Group in August.
From a patient perspective, both Practices will continue to operate as normal, and patients will still attend their usual practice as they always have done.
The purpose of the merger will mostly to combine back-office functions, to improve the effectiveness of administrative processes at both sites.
There will be the opportunity to share some services for the benefit of patients at both sites, which we will explain in due course as the time approaches, but for now we would like to take the opportunity to reassure patients at both Chorlton Family Practice and Corkland Road Medical Practice that their access to high quality care will remain unchanged.
As part of our engagement exercise, we would like to invite patients at both Practices to submit questions that we will answer in writing in the coming weeks. We have also sought the advice of our local Councillors, who have kindly offered to support us in hosting a virtual discussion on Wednesday 8th September.
There will be limited spaces for this, so please contact us early and we will do our best to accommodate you. We are still hopeful of the possibility of hosting a face to face event, but this will depend entirely on local COVID infection rates and the availability of appropriate space.
The email to contact us with any queries is cmccg.chorltonfamilypractice@nhs.net.
We have produced a brief Frequently Asked Questions document below, which will hopefully answer many of your questions.
We will keep you informed in the coming weeks through the usual channels.
Yours sincerely
The Partners of Chorlton Family Practice and Corkland Road Medical Centre
Frequently Asked Questions
What will happen to my surgery?
You should attend your usual surgery as normal, as both practice sites will remain open with separate clinics and phone lines and there will not be any change in how you see your usual doctor or nurse.
Why are you merging?
Firstly, because we believe that by combining the qualities of both practices, we will be a position to offer the best possible care to all the people of Chorlton.
Secondly, because the priority for local NHS services in the coming years will be to look to improve the health of the population across larger areas, with the focus on prevention rather than cure. Combining the surgeries will put us in the best possible position to be able to offer new and improved services to support this work.
Thirdly, because, particularly as the NHS looks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we realise that are stronger together, and doctors and nurses working more closely across the two sites will be able to support each and share knowledge and skills to care for you the best way we can.
When will this happen?
The planned merger date is Friday 1st October 2021.
Will there be any change in the services offered?
It is important to note that there will not be any change to how patients of Chorlton Family Practice and Corkland Road Medical Centre access their practices.
Over time, we will hope to make use of the different skills of the doctors and nurses at both practices to offer more services across both of the sites, such as minor surgery and contraceptive fitting, and improve urgent accesss.
What do I need to do?
If you have any questions about the process then please write to us at cmccg.chorltonfamilypractice@nhs.net.