July 4, 2025
Dear Patient,
Proposed Merger of the Blakeney Surgery & Coleford Medical Practice
This letter is to provide you with an update on some proposed changes coming to your GP practice this summer. These changes do not relate to the services you use or where you access them; they relate to new management & contractual arrangements.
The partners at Blakeney Surgery (managed by GDOC Ltd) and Coleford Medical Practice have applied to work together towards a merger of the two practices.
Why is the merger happening?
We appreciate there have been a number of changes for our patients over the last couple of years. However, we believe this merger will support the long-term future of both practices and benefit our patients and staff. An example of this is improved financial sustainability and easier recruitment of practice staff.
What is changing?
It is proposed subject to approval that from 1 August 2025 the practices will merge and will have a new name: Dean Medical Practice.
What is not changing?
Services will continue to be provided from the current four practice premises: Blakeney Surgery, Coleford Health Centre, Brunston Surgery and Lydbrook Health Centre. We remain committed to a new build in Coleford to replace the three Coleford Medical Practice sites.
All the current doctors will continue to provide services through the merged practices and services will remain as present. Our telephone numbers will not change and you will be able to contact your practice in the same way as you do now.
This is a great opportunity for both practices and we want to assure all patients that in the proposed new merged practice the principles of quality and personal clinical care will continue to be of utmost importance to us and our aim will be to enhance services and flexibility while ensuring stability for all our patients and staff.
We hope that our patients will support this exciting move, however we are keen to understand any questions or concerns that you may have.
You can share your views using the feedback forms in reception, on our practice websites: https://blakeneysurgery.nhs.uk/ or https://colefordmedicalpractice.nhs.uk/, email your practice: glicb.blakeney.surgery@nhs.net or glicb.colefordmedicalpractice@nhs.net to leave a comment by 15th July.
We will continue to work with our Patient Participation Groups (PPG), and we will develop a FAQs document to address general patient queries raised relating to the proposed merger.
Yours sincerely,
Blakeney Surgery & Coleford Medical Practice Doctors
Note: G DOC Ltd.
G DOC Ltd is the GP provider organisation for Gloucestershire; and is a membership organisation where all of the GP practices in Gloucestershire are shareholders. G DOC Ltd. currently is responsible for 4 practices across Gloucestershire.
The G DOC Ltd mission is to strengthen general practice by delivering safe, high quality, and innovative primary care. Their aim is to ensure general practice is sustainable and responsive to local needs. They recognise and celebrate the importance of a local practice serving a local population; as their operating model is to have the practice as the local delivery hub, with GDOC able to support as required and necessary.