The future of Guildhall Walk Healthcare Centre

Portsmouth NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has confirmed that the contract to provide primary care services through the Guildhall Walk Healthcare Centre will not be renewed when it comes to an end on Thursday 30 September 2021. As a result of this, the practice will close.

This decision has been taken as the future of the building that currently houses the surgery is uncertain, and we would like to minimise any disruption or uncertainty this situation could cause for patients.

The CCG has considered the different options to ensure that 8,400 registered patients will have continued and ongoing access to primary care services and will do this through what is called a ‘managed transfer’, which offers patients a choice of nearby practices.

This will secure the transfer of all registered patients to other practices in Portsmouth in an organised and facilitated way to avoid too much extra pressure at one time being put on the other practices in the city.

The CCG is writing to all patients to inform them of the decision and outline the next steps. You will have a choice about which practice you move to, and every effort will be made to ensure that you are registered with a new practice that meets your needs. There will be online information events for you to find out more about what the changes mean for you and your care.

It is important that registered patients continue to use the practice – there is no need to change and patients will be asked to ‘do nothing’ until they hear further from the practice or the CCG.

Guildhall Walk Healthcare Centre will remain open until 30 September 2021 and you can continue to access all of the same services. The CCG will continue to work closely with the surgery to ensure that everyone affected by the changes is supported to make sure they continue to receive the care they need, particularly if they live with long term health conditions.

We recognise the impact this will have on both patients and staff working in the practice, particularly at this time. The CCG will be working very closely with the practice in the coming months ahead, to ensure that patients continue to receive consistent and high-quality care.

This is obviously an unsettling time for the staff at the practice and we would ask that the team are allowed to focus on continuing their day-to-day role of keeping their practice running smoothly.

If you have any questions, please contact the CCG by emailing pccg.guildhallwalk@nhs.net