Around 90 patients turned up yesterday for The Adam Practice and Lifeboat Quay Medical Centre open event at The Spire in Poole. The event brought together healthcare professionals, staff, and patients to talk about the merger which is happening 2 October 2023 and to answer any questions and concerns that people have.
Lifeboat Quay Medical Centre will be joining with The Adam Practice, combining their staff, expertise and resources, meaning they can offer an even higher standard of care, convenience, and accessibility for patients. The practices will remain open as usual, with minimal changes to patients and staff.
Dr Ben Oxley, GP Partner at The Adam Practice highlights the positive impact it will have on patient care,
“We see this as a fantastic opportunity for both practices. We think it’s going to provide excellent opportunities for patients within both practices and excellent opportunities for staff too.
“We have many different clinics at The Adam Practice that Lifeboat Quay Medical Centre patients will now have access to such as vasectomy. Another is our award-winning Leg Club which is a novel way of managing leg ulcers.
“The Adam Practice is also involved in clinical research and patients will have opportunities to be involved in this innovative work in areas such as diabetes and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). We see that there are a lot of advantages to this merger.”
During the event, GP Partners and staff from both practices, as well as staff from NHS Dorset were keen to reassure patients that they will not need to do anything to continue receiving care. Prescriptions and ongoing appointments will be as usual.
Patients at the open event had questions about the online appointment system called Klinik that Lifeboat Quay Medical Centre will be starting to use in October. It is a system that is already in place at The Adam Practice and has been well received by many patients. Klinik is an online form, accessed online, and is a way of triaging patients based on their symptoms and needs, helping to ensure they get the right care, with the right person, when they need it. Patients who do not have access to the internet, or are unable to complete the online form, will still be able to phone the surgery as normal.
Jenny Read, patient at Lifeboat Quay Medical Centre attended the open event,
“My feeling is that if the merger is the best way to keep the practice efficient and running, then I am pleased for it to happen and I am sure it will go well.”
Dr Krishna Guduru, GP Partner at Lifeboat Quay Medical Centre said,
“We want to reassure our patients that there will be many advantages of the merger. Our patients will benefit from extended opening hours as well as access to multiple sites, meaning more convenience and flexibility with their appointments.
“Before this merger, we were struggling to recruit staff, but our resources will now be pooled, leading to better care for our patients and more efficient services – now and in the long term.”
Further information and a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be found here:
The Adam Practice https://www.adampractice.co.uk/
Lifeboat Quay Medical Centre https://www.lifeboatquaymedicalcentre.nhs.uk/
Alternatively, patients can visit their practice to see posters with information and pick up a copy of the FAQs. There are also short videos available online featuring Dr Ben Oxley, GP Partner at The Adam Practice and Dr Krishna Guduru, GP Partner at Lifeboat Quay Medical Centre which can be viewed below:
What is a merger?
Find out about Klinik, the online appointment system
Some of the frequently asked questions
