Patients at Luson Surgery in Wellington have been promised a smooth automatic transfer to another nearby practice in the town, after Luson’s GP partners have made the difficult decision to close later this year.
Despite the best efforts of the team at Luson Surgery, a two-partner practice with around 6,600 patients, the practice has faced increasing challenges over the past 18 months due to staffing recruitment and retention issues as well as premises challenges.
When the practice closes its doors on 26 September 2025, all patients will be automatically transferred to Wellington Medical Centre, in Mantle Street (a few minutes away from Luson Surgery), giving it a patient list size of around 23,000. The transfer has been arranged by NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board, which is responsible for commissioning primary care services.
Dr Rachel Yates, GP partner at Luson Surgery, said: “We would like to thank all our wonderful patients – it has been a privilege to provide care for you over the years, and we will continue to do so until we close our doors in September.
“The sustainability challenges we face have brought us to this incredibly difficult decision and we need to do what’s right for our patients to make sure they can continue to access high quality care. We know they will be in good hands at Wellington Medical Centre.
“I would also like to pay tribute to all my talented, dedicated and compassionate colleagues at the practice who work so hard for local people every day – thank you for all you do.”
There is no need for patients at either practice to take any action – Luson’s patients will be automatically transferred, while existing patients at Wellington Medical Centre are being reassured that extra staffing will be in place to ensure the practice can continue to provide high quality care to all patients from 29 September.
Dr Sally Dimambro, GP partner at Wellington Medical Centre, which is rated Good by the Care Quality Commission, said: “I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all patients of Luson on behalf of all my colleagues at Wellington Medical Centre – we look forward to meeting you and getting to know you.
“I can reassure our existing patients that we are working closely with NHS Somerset and Luson Surgery to ensure we have the additional resources we need to ensure a smooth transfer in September.”
Once the initial list transfer has taken place, if patients currently registered at Luson prefer, they can choose to transfer their care to another nearby GP practice, subject to the normal registration processes at that practice – although patients will need to wait for four weeks to do this.
Sukeina Kassam, Director of Primary Care at NHS Somerset: “There’s no need for patients to take any action – the transfer from Luson Surgery to Wellington Medical Centre will happen automatically and we are working with both practices to ensure a successful transition.”
Both practices will be working with their Patient Participation Groups during the transfer process.
For more information visit the practices’ websites or click on https://nhssomerset.nhs.uk/luson-surgery/
