The partners of Hilltops Medical Centre, Stony Medical Centre and Watling Vale Medical Centre are delighted to announce that from 1 July 2024 our three practices will join together as one, Watling Street Practice. 

What does this mean for me as your patient?

 

What do I need to do as your patient?

You do not need to do anything. As our patient nothing will change for you in terms of how you access your practice. 

 

Who will I be registered with?

Although it makes no difference to your care, you will be registered with our new partnership named Watling Street Practice.

However, you will still receive your care from the 3 current locations. Moving forward these will be named;

• Watling Street Practice @ Great Holm
• Watling Street Practice @ Kiln Farm (PCN office / non-clinical)
• Watling Street Practice @ Shenley Church End; and
• Watling Street Practice @ Stony Stratford

 

How will I contact you?

We will have one website www.watlingstreetpractice.co.uk

We will use one Online Consultation Tool (AccruX). 

In time we will have one telephone number, but for now we will continue to use our 3 separate numbers so please continue to use the number you are familiar with, but from 1 July please expect your call to be answered as ‘Watling Street Practice’.

 

Will my Doctor Change?

We are making no changes to our staffing so the people you are familiar with will all still be working for our new larger practice so, your Doctor will remain your Doctor.

 

What does this mean for staff?

Firstly and most importantly this is not about losing any staff or cutting any costs. 

All staff will continue to be employed we will simply now employed by all the partners i.e.: Drs Sehar Ali, Mahmood Atab, Rebecca Bradshaw, Margaret Field, Amit Goyal, Sarah Grinyer, Manpreet Kohli, Deepali Madhotra, Sridevy Raju, Patricia Regis and John Slippe-Quartey.

The 11 doctors have come together to work as one partnership, under one contract and with one name - Watling Street Practice.

 

Where will I go for my face-to-face appointments?

We will continue to work from four locations when merged, the difference being that instead of visiting Hilltops Medical Centre, Stony Medical Centre or Watling Vale Medical Centre), your appointment will be at one of the following:

• Watling Street Practice @ Great Holm
• Watling Street Practice @ Kiln Farm (PCN office / non-clinical)
• Watling Street Practice @ Shenley Church End; and
• Watling Street Practice @ Stony Stratford

You can ask to be seen in any of the locations.  Your chosen location may be based on the speed with which you need to be seen, which clinician you need to see and/or your ability to travel.

Please be reassured, consideration will always be given to your ability to travel when an appointment is booked.

 

Where will my records be stored?

We will use the same clinical system (SystmOne) but instead of 3 modules we will have just one.  You will not need to do anything, this merging of our clinical systems will happen in the background.

 

Are you cutting or changing any services?

Quite simply no, we are not.

In fact, from 1 July some patients will see immediate improvements to their care. For instance:

• Not all of our practices are able to offer a LARC service (long acting reversable contraceptives i.e.: COILS and Implants) but from 1 July, as one merged practice all patients will have access to a practice based LARC appointment.
• Not all of our practices are able to offer our diabetic patients an insulin initiation service but from 1 July all patients will have access to a practice-based appointment instead of travelling to hospital.

Over time there will be improvements to other services and the way they are delivered but any adaptations will be done in consultation with the team members key to the service evolution, including our Patient Participation Group (PPG).

With any changes, patient choice will remain paramount and providing care close to home will remain a priority.

 

Why is this merger a good idea?

Bringing our three practices together will make us safer and more secure. By having a larger partnership, all working under one NHS contract, our joined-up practice will be more robust and will be able to respond more positively to change.

Together we will be able to work more innovatively as our knowledge base will be broader.  We can work collaboratively to develop new ways of working enhancing patient care and increasing capacity and access to appointments.

 

Together our collective skills and experience will be combined making the whole greater than the sum of our parts.

 

We recognise that change can be concerning – but we believe that there are exciting times ahead of us. If you have any questions, please come and speak to a member of staff, who will be able to help you further.

 

Thank you all for your support, Drs Sehar Ali, Mahmood Atab, Rebecca Bradshaw, Margaret Field, Amit Goyal, Sarah Grinyer, Manpreet Kohli, Deepali Madhotra, Sridevy Raju, Patricia Regis and John Slippe-Quartey.