Patients registered with the Cogges GP Surgery in Witney met with GP partners and staff yesterday (18 July) to discuss the future of services at the practice.

The partners at the practice, Dr Sandra Hallett and Dr Amisha Patel, have advised patients that they intend to hand back the contract they hold for providing GP services to approximately 7,700 people in Witney and some surrounding villages.

They told patients of their intention to give six months' notice to NHS Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and were keen to ensure patients had the opportunity to hear first-hand about the pressures facing them. These include the increasing workload demands and challenges in maintaining high quality services, along with uncertainty faced by smaller practices (in light of the national GP Forward View) all of which have contributed to a failure to recruit new GP partners since the departure of  two GP partners over the last few years.

The two remaining partners have explored a number of options to continue to provide services at Cogges Surgery and Oxfordshire CCG will look at all options for the surgery, including finding a new provider or a merger with another Witney practice. Cogges Surgery is among a growing number of practices in the county and nationally that have made the difficult decision to merge or close, due to lack of GPs willing to take up partnership status and hold NHS contracts to provide primary care services.

Dr Hallett from Cogges Surgery said: “Any decision to hand back our contract will not been taken lightly and we would like to thank our patients for the loyalty they have shown us and the good relationships we have built with them over the years.

"We understand that some patients may be worried about any changes but we will continue to provide services over the next six months while we work with Oxfordshire CCG to look at all the options for the future. We will make sure that our patients are kept informed along the way and have the opportunity to have their say."

Dr Patel from Cogges Surgery said “We are saddened that we might need to take this action but we will work with Oxfordshire CCG to find ways for our patients to continue to see the doctors and nurses that they have known at Cogges Surgery."

Julie Dandridge, Head of Primary Care and Localities at Oxfordshire CCG, said: “The partners invited patients and the Patient Participation Group to hear directly from them about why they intend to take the decision to hand back the contract.

“They have not yet done so, but once this happens the CCG will have the responsibility for ensuring patients registered at the practice continue to have access to primary care services in the future. 

“There are a number of options that we will consider; we will want to explain what those are to patients first and to get their views about how they want to remain involved and informed. It's important that patients have the opportunity to ask questions about the future of the practice, even if, at this stage, not all the answers are clear.

“We will continue to meet with patients over the coming months as we plan services for the future that meet their needs. We understand this could be a worrying time for patients but want to assure them all that they will continue to have access to high quality services locally. We will look at all the available options for the future of the practice."