Patient records transferred after GP surgery shuts

The Luson Surgery announced that it would be closing in July

Thousands of patients at a GP practice that closed on Friday will have their medical records transferred to a new surgery, doctors have said.

The Luson Surgery in Wellington, Somerset, announced it was closing in July over recruitment, staff and premises challenges.

All 6,500 patients at the Luson Surgery would be transferred to the Wellington Medical Centre, which has five additional doctors, including two from the Luson Surgery, to deal with the influx.

Dr Sally Dimambro, GP partner at Wellington Medical Centre, said: "We have been working closely with NHS Somerset and other local partners to make sure we are ready."

Due to having to serve notice periods, some of the new GPs will arrive at different dates up until December and the centre will employ locum GPs until then, bosses said.

The Wellington Medical Centre will now have about 23,000 patients, with all systems expected to be running as normal by Tuesday.

The transfer has been managed by the NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board.

Doctors said anyone needing urgent medical attention before then could call the centre or visit in-person.

Patients with scheduled appointments on 29 September were advised to attend as usual but the surgery will not have access to medical records and a paper system would be in operation.