How will it affect you?
Your relationship with us will currently stay the same and you don’t need to do anything. Although we are merging the two practices from the 1^st April 2025, we are not merging our computer patient lists yet. This will happen later.
For the moment we will continue to deliver all current services separately at the two sites, but as things develop, we may alter where certain services are delivered at each site.
Patients will still be allocated to one of the two sites (FMP or NPS), and you will still be able to speak to the same staff and book appointments with a GP in the same way.
Together we will have nearly 35,000 patients throughout Faversham and the surrounding areas, but this does not mean that you will need to wait longer for an appointment with a GP and we are recruiting more staff to help improve the service we provide for our patients.

Why change?
The partners from both practices feel that the best way to continue offering our patients the same excellent care is to come together to pool our collective clinical skills and resources for your benefit.
The two practices have always worked closely together and a merger between the two practices gives us the opportunity to develop and expand the services we can offer to you.
The change will also enable us to direct more resources to patient services.

Why it makes sense
By merging the two practices in Faversham, it will allow us to develop and offer more services to our combined Faversham population.
The presence of more doctors and clinical staff in the merged practice will increase our ability to effectively manage any unavoidable staff absence (e.g. if a GP is ill).
The merged practice will be better positioned to meet the new responsibilities of GPs to help lead the planning and development of local health services.
Both practices use the same type of computer system so this will allow easy merging of patient data later on without affecting patient safety or patient care. This part won’t happen immediately so patients will currently still be seen at their usual practice site.
Merging the two practices will allow us to be more efficient with economies of scale. This will free up resources for improved and additional services.
An increased number of services will become available to you, and you will have access to more medical staff with a greater range of experience in different areas of care.
There is a lot of clinical and business experience amongst the GPs which will ensure that the transition and future running of the new practice is efficient and effective.
The two merging practices share the same values and work ethic. We are both committed to excellent patient care. This is our main focus.

When will the merger take place?

The proposed merger process will start on 1st April 2025

What will the name of the new Practice be?

Faversham Medical Group, but the two practice sites will retain their current names.

Who will the GP partners in the practice be?

•  Dr Alastair Gould (Male)

•  Dr Daniel Moore (Male)

•  Dr Wendy Domleo (Female)

•  Dr Nicholas Tan (Male)

•  Dr Caroline Baker (Female)

•  Dr Gaurav Gupta (Male)

•  Dr Lincy George (Female)

•  Dr Shariq Lanker (Male)

•  Dr En Min Choi (Female)

•  Dr Daniel Titterton (Male)

Where do I find more information about the practice sites?

https://www.favershammedicalpractice.nhs.uk/

https://www.newtonplacesurgery.nhs.uk/

Contact details for practice

01795 905577 (FMP) 01795 530777 (NPS)

Patient Participation Group

•  Please contact us if you would like to get involved by joining our patient participation group. Please ask reception or look at our websites for further details.

What services can I expect?

•  Urgent conditions/illnesses will be assessed or seen on the day

•  In house diagnostic tests including blood tests and electrocardiograms (ECGs)

•  Access to more doctors and clinical staff with a greater range of medical expertise

•  Availability of enhanced services for all patients including anti-coagulation (e.g. Warfarin), female contraception devices (e.g. Implants & coils), and joint injections.

•  Continued commitment to training of future GPs and medical students

•  Full range of nursing services, including travel advice, cervical smears, ear syringing, chronic disease clinics and childhood vaccinations

•  Post natal and scheduled baby checks

•  Urgent Treatment Centre-Open 8am-8pm every day (based at FMP)

•  In-house physiotherapy (based at NPS)

•  Ophthalmology Services-such as cataract extraction and general ophthalmology clinics (based at FMP & our Folkestone Eye Centre)

•  In-house Ultrasound scans (based at NPS)

•  Orthopaedic hand surgery (based at FMP)

•  Gynaecology pessary clinic (based at FMP)

•  Audiology clinic (based at NPS)

Any Questions?
If you have any questions, comments or
suggestions, please contact the Business Managers Kerin Austin (FMP) or Kelly
Temple (NPS). You can contact them via reception.

Dear Patient,
GPs and their practice teams provide the vast majority of NHS care outside of
hospitals, supporting you and your family throughout your lives. In a perfect world, we
want to be able to offer every patient:

Safety – prompt access to a GP or practice nurse you trust, with well-staffed
surgeries and enough resource so that no patient feels left behind.

Stability – a family doctor who knows you, your medical history, and your community
– without the stress and difficulty of finding it difficult to get an appointment.

Hope for the future – care that focuses on keeping you well, not just treating illness.
We want more time for meaningful consultations, joined-up support closer to your
home, from modern GP surgery premises with safe and effective technology to make
this possible.

The government talks of “bringing back the family doctor” but what politicians
promise is often not planned properly or funded fairly to be able to be delivered
in reality.

We aim to respond to all appointment and advice requests promptly, prioritising
those most in need. Sometimes we may need to offer you an appointment on
another day or direct you to another suitable service.

For safety reasons, urgent medical requests cannot be accepted via our online
system. For something urgent, pick up the phone or walk in to our reception.

The need to prioritise urgent cases to keep patients safe can result in longer waiting
times for routine/non-urgent appointments.

The new requirement to allow patients unlimited online access for non- urgent
medical requests, throughout core hours, makes it more likely that we will have no
choice but to create hospital-style waiting lists to meet patient need.


We want to guide you through the NHS, co-ordinate your care, and support you to
stay healthy. We want every patient to feel safe and confident in their GP practice –
now and in the future.

GPs are on your side.

The Challenges Your Practice Faces

Rising demand, fewer GPs – GPs care for 17% more patients than in 2015, but with
fewer GPs. Funding has not kept pace, so many patients find it hard to see their GP
quickly, leading to the stressful scramble to secure an appointment.

Practice closures – Around 2,000 practices have been lost since 2010, that’s one
in four surgeries, leaving fewer local practices and longer waits or travel for patients.

Funding pressures – Practices receive just 31p per patient per day to provide
unlimited consultations with our doctors and nurses, making it hard to employ
enough staff and sustain services.

Workforce challenges – More GPs are leaving the NHS than joining. While our staff
work tirelessly, system pressures and patient frustration can affect everyone’s morale
and wellbeing. We have unemployed GPs now – and practices lack funds to
hire them.

Unsafe workloads – Many GPs see far more than the accepted safe limit of patients
per day, often working over 60 hours a week. Recent government changes risk
making this worse.

Ageing buildings – One in five GP surgeries is now over 75 years old – older than the
NHS itself which started in 1948. There is very little investment to provide modern
facilities fit for today’s needs.

Access versus continuity – Government policy means speed of an appointment
comes before choice. This lack of continuity of care, means patients often don’t get
to see a familiar face who knows them well.

Demand management – We always aim to respond to all appointment and advice
requests promptly, prioritising those most in need. Sometimes we may need to offer
you an appointment on another day or direct you to another suitable service.

For safety reasons, urgent medical requests cannot always be accepted via
our online system. For something urgent, pick up the telephone or walk in to
our surgery.

The need to prioritise urgent cases to keep patients safe can result in longer waiting
times for routine/non-urgent appointments.

The new requirement to allow patients unlimited online access for non-urgent
requests, throughout core hours, makes it more likely that we will have no
choice but to create hospital style waiting lists to meet demand.

We may unfortunately sometimes face challenges beyond
our control:
– difficulties with accessing services at the local hospitals and long waiting lists
– workforce challenges – not enough GPs to look after you
– the need to provide our teams with compulsory NHS training and education
– unforeseen events
– NHS IT challenges with old and slow equipment
– lack of investment in practice buildings and development
– public health emergencies

– Our core contract hours are Monday – Friday, 8am– 630pm.
– Our consulting times are between these hours.
– Please note at certain times, e.g. lunch or the ends of the day, a clinician
may not be present in the building (e.g. out on home visits).
– In any emergency, please dial 999 for an ambulance or attend the nearest
– Accident & Emergency department.

We believe patients deserve more
– At present, GPs and their teams are under huge pressure – caring for more people
with fewer resources.
– Without proper investment, the safety, stability and continuity of care that patients
value most are at risk.
– As your GP practice, we will always do what we can to deliver the best service
possible for you and your family. With the right resources and support, we
could expand our services, employ more staff, and deliver the safe, timely, and
personalised care you deserve.
– Please remember that our current GP contract funds patient care on average at
31p per day per patient, which is not enough to meet rising demand and to provide
the care you and your family deserve.

So please bear with us – and thank you for your support as
we try our best for you and your family.

See NHS England’s You and Your General Practice document here: You and Your
General Practice