Eldene Surgery patients invited to meet GP practice’s new provider

The session, taking place at Eldene Surgery between 9.30am and 11.30m on Saturday 12 October, will see staff from Victoria Cross Surgery, which will soon take over the management of the east Swindon practice, answer patients’ questions and provide information about the new services being offered as part of the new arrangement.

It was revealed last month that Victoria Cross Surgery would take on the running of Eldene Surgery from Monday 11 November.

This followed an earlier announcement that Eldene’s previous provider – the Integral Medical Holdings (IMH) Group – would be withdrawing its involvement with GP practices in Swindon.

Those coming along to the meet and greet session in October will hear updates on a range of initiatives being introduced at Eldene as part of the new arrangement with Victoria Cross, such as extended opening hours, improved appointment availability and extra on-site healthcare staff.

Also being discussed will be the move to redirect patient calls from the centralised call centre that was introduced by the previous provider, and back to the in-house reception team at Eldene Surgery.

Sarah Wilson, Practice Business Manager at Victoria Cross Surgery, said:

“We know how unhappy patients of Eldene have been over the last year, and that many of those people may be weary of another new provider coming on board.

“However, unlike what has happened previously, this new arrangement pairs Eldene up with a well-performing GP practice from the local area, and we want anyone who might feel apprehensive to come along and have their concerns eased and any questions they have answered.”

Those wishing to attend the October event do not need to register their interest in advance.

Anybody unable to make it to the meeting can still have their questions answered by sending an email with the words Eldene Surgery in the subject box to admin.victoriacross@nhs.net.