New partnership to strengthen local care for over 280,000 people

‍ GP practices across Poole, Wimborne, Ferndown, Westbourne and Crane Valley have come together to support local communities through a new partnership.

‍ The new East Central Dorset Neighbourhood Partnership has been set up in response to the NHS 10-Year Plan, which encourages services to work more closely together and provide more care in local communities.

‍Together, the partnership will support over 280,000 people, which is around a quarter of Dorset’s population.

‍Dr Simon Rees, Clinical Director at Shore Medical PCN, said:

‍ “By working together as a partnership, we have a real opportunity to do more for our patients and communities.

‍ "This means we can help more people stay well and make sure general practice continues to meet local needs into the future.”

Jo Morris Managing Partner Cranborne Practice, Crane Valley PCN said:

“This exciting new partnership will turn forward-thinking, innovative ideas into reality for our patients. By combining our wealth of experience and knowledge, we will continue to drive primary care forward and deliver the highest standard of care for our patients.”

Fiona Cleary, CEO at Castleman Healthcare GP federation who support GP practices across Wimborne and Ferndown, Poole North and Crane Valley said:

“We know that working together in this way brings real benefits. For example, our teams already provide specialist nurses, home visits for patients and support for staff. We help practices manage demand and care for people more effectively.

“This partnership builds on that experience, helping practices share resources and respond to local needs more effectively.”

Dr Harry Gemmell, Clinical Director at Crane Valley PCN, said:

“For patients, much will stay the same. People will still be registered with their usual GP practice, and routine appointments will continue as normal.

“This is about working more efficiently and in a joined-up way. It means we can look at what local people need in the community to stay well, not just medical care, and respond as a partnership.”

Dr Neil Raha, Clinical Director, Poole Bay & Bournemouth Primary Care Network said:

‍ ‍“By closely working together at scale, we will be able to provide better personalised care for the community we serve and also have more stability for General practice.  in these extremely challenging times.”

For a full list of practices in the partnership, and for updates as it develops, please visit www.castlemanhealthcare.co.uk.