Wellington GP surgery to close permanently in September

Wellington currently benefits from two surgeries within close proximity - Luson Surgery on Fore Street, and Wellington Medical Centre on Mantle Street, a short walk to the west.

Luson Surgery only has two registered GPs looking after more than 6,600 patients in and around Wellington, and has struggled to recruit new staff.

NHS Somerset has now announced that Luson Surgery will close its doors permanently on September 26, with all current patients moving across to Wellington Medical Centre.

In a statement published on its official website, NHS Somerset said that it had been supporting the surgery extensively during the last 18 months in the face of "ongoing resilience and sustainability challenges".

The two largest challenges facing the practice have been GP staffing and the physical limitations of the building.

The surgery was one of 14 identified by the NHS Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) back in September 2020 as needing to expand or relocate in light of local housing growth.

NHS Somerset said that "a long-term sustainable solution could not be found" that would have allowed the practice to remain open - leaving both it and the employed GPs little choice but to close.

A spokesman said: "GP partners at Luson Surgery have made the difficult decision to resign their contract to provide GP services.

"The practice will close and cease offering general practice services on Friday, September 26.

"We are pleased to confirm that patients currently registered at Luson Surgery will be automatically transferred to Wellington Medical Centre from Monday, September 29.

"Once the initial transfer has taken place, if patients registered at Luson prefer, they can choose to transfer their care to another nearby GP practice -  though patients will need to wait for four weeks to do this.

"We are working at pace directly with Wellington Medical Centre to ensure there is sufficient staffing and resources in place by September to enable them to accommodate all patients from Luson Surgery, while continuing to offer excellent quality care to patients already registered at Wellington Medical Centre."

All current Luson Surgery patients are being contacted about these changes by post, text or via the NHS app.

A full Q&A for current patients can be found online via www.nhssomerset.nhs.uk/luson-surgery.

Wellington and the neighbouring village of Rockwell Green are expected to see significant housing growth in the coming years, which could put further pressure on the remaining GPs in the town.

Work will begin before Christmas on a development of 200 homes on Nynehead Road (which will provide the access for the town's new railway station), while the Planning Inspectorate approved plans in May for a new estate of 315 homes and a convenience store on Exeter Road.

Taunton and Wellington MP Gideon Amos said he would continue to push for more funding for Somerset GPs following this announcement.

He said: "It’s desperately disappointing to hear the news about Luson but, having spent time with the team at Wellington Medical Centre, I know they will be well cared for there.

"I’d like to pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of local GPs and healthcare staff at both surgeries.

"If Wellington is to grow in population in line with the government’s housing plans - including a 41 per cent increase in planned housing numbers in Somerset - then the town will desperately need more GPs and ultimately a new surgery to cater for them.

"Residents rightly want to see new infrastructure, such as more GPs, before new housing is built and that’s what I’m going to be campaigning for."