PLANNED proposal to bringing three Basingstoke GPs together to form a primary care hub has been welcomed by the town’s MP.

As previously reported by The Gazette the Gillies and Overbridge Medical Partnership, in Brighton Hill, Camrose Medical Partnership, in South Ham, and The Hackwood Partnership, in Essex Road, are intending to merge later this year.

Despite some councillors and residents raising concerns about the plans Basingstoke’s MP Maria Miller believes the merger will strengthen local NHS services.

Mrs Miller said: “Our GP practices need to look at the best way to provide the health services people need.

“I have had many discussions with the local CCG and with the Health Secretary about how ‘new models of care’ will help give more Basingstoke residents access to the sort of GP care they want, particularly people with complex and chronic health needs.

“The NHS’s strategic plan for our area says that the current model of small GP practices operating on an individual basis is becoming less sustainable.”

The MP added: “A larger practice with a multi-disciplinary team, working across a number of sites, can offer more and better services, and improves the practice’s ability to recruit high quality health care professionals.”

“A significant programme of work is being led by the CCG, working with GP practices, to improve access to primary care, including through multi-disciplinary teams, extended opening hours and increased availability of GP appointments. The proposed merger of these three practices is an important step in this transformation of primary care.”

There will be a full patient consultation, working with the Clinical Commissioning Group, local councillors and other local groups.