A Forfar ‘super-surgery’ involving the merger of two town medical practices into one of Scotland’s largest has moved a step closer.
Academy Medical Centre and Ravenswood Surgery are to combine in a new practice called Chapelpark Healthcare Centre, delivering services from the Academy Street facility.
Building works for the premises have been approved and with timescales for the project being put in place, it is expected that a merger date can be set in the very near future.
When merged, the centre will have a patient roll of around 15,000 people.
The facility’s Dr Andrew Thomson said: “Following the merger we will become one of the largest practices in Scotland but, most excitingly, we will be delivering a very different model of care to meet the needs of our practice population.
“Patients have been very helpful throughout the planning process, sharing their thoughts about how services should look following the merger.
“People want to be treated as individuals and be able to manage any longer-term health issues in partnership with healthcare staff who know them, as well as being confident they can access support at times of more acute illness.”
Dr Thomson added: “To be able to meet these needs, we will have six small teams working within the practice, consisting of two GPs, practice nurses, health care assistants and a receptionist.
“Other staff, such as community nurses, will work very closely with the teams and we hope to make additional services available within the teams, to support care as close to home as possible and reduce the numbers of people involved in someone’s care.
“Registered patients have been given the opportunity over recent months to state a preference for the team they would wish to be allocated to.
“Letters will be sent to all patients prior to the merger happening, to confirm their team and share the date that the new practice will open.”
Gordon Sneddon, a patient at Academy Medical Centre, said: “I have been a patient at this practice and its predecessors for over 40 years and have seen many changes over that time.
“Not all of these changes have been for the better and the inability to get an appointment within a reasonable timescale, to get through to the surgery on the telephone when it opens and the inability to have continuity of care are just three examples of problems the surgery has faced in the past.
“I am looking forward to the imminent changes at the practice. If the merger brings the improvements that are anticipated then this will be a huge step forward for the new Chapelpark Healthcare Centre and I hope that Ravenswood surgery patients will also see this as a positive step.”