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Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to take over Circuit Lane Surgery

NHS England is in the final stages of agreeing a temporary contract with Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, starting from 1 February 2015 to provide GP services at the Circuit Lane Surgery in Reading. All services currently provided at the surgery will continue. Opening hours and surgery hours will remain the same. Patients have been written to and advised of the changes.

The next year will be used to consider long-term options for the future of the practice, engaging with the community as they are developed.

Mathew Tait, Area Director for NHS England (Thames Valley), said: “We are pleased to have been able to put in place an interim provider quickly. The decision making process was led by us and a joint working group made up of the chair of the Patient Participation Group, Healthwatch Reading and the local Clinical Commissioning Group. We are confident that the 10,500 patients at Circuit Lane Surgery will benefit from the continuity of GP services and we also hope some of the GPs currently working at the practice will remain. We look forward to working in partnership with Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, who already provides the out-of-hours services for all Berkshire West patients and the services at the Slough Walk-In Centre.  We’d also like to thank patients for their support during this time of change.”

NHS England (Thames Valley) will continue to work closely with the Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to make sure there is a thorough understanding of commitments and share information to help ensure a smooth transition early next year.

Berkshire Healthcare Chief Executive Julian Emms said: “We are pleased that we have been selected to provide this service. We believe in working closely with the people who use our services and we are looking forward to working with the patients and partners in and around the Circuit Lane Surgery to understand how we can provide the best support for their needs.

“We aim to provide a consistent level of care and quality, working with the existing staff so we can minimise any disruption but at the same time identify new ways of working with the patients, practice manager and NHS England so everyone gets the best care in the right place.”