The merger of two GP groups based in Teignmouth has been officially approved by NHS Devon and will take effect from July 1.

Teign Estuary Medical Practice will become part of the Channel View Medical Group. The combined practice will serve around 22,500 patients across six sites.

‘The merge will ensure sustainability and resilience in a time where several GP practices across the country are closing, leaving patients with no access to a local doctor,’ said Dr Becky Chowdhury a senior partner at the Channel View Medical Group and Dr Julian Squires, a senior partner at the Teign Estuary Medical Group, in a letter to patients. ‘The staff team are central to the current success of each practice and there are no proposed changes to staffing levels as part of the merger,’ they added.

Channel View and Teign Estuary GP practices have a history of collaboration and both have previously worked together on joint projects such as the roll out of vaccination programmes, the development of systems improvements, and a variety of research projects.

The practices plan to maintain the opening hours and sites of all six surgeries for the foreseeable future. The surgeries are at: Courtenay Place, The Den and Glendevon in Teignmouth, Bishopsteignton, Riverside in Shaldon, and Chudleigh.

Patients are unlikely to see any obvious changes to the way they access appointments, the staff they see, or the services they receive in the short term.

Channel View hopes it will be able to combine the IT systems for the GP practices by the end of July so patients will be able to request appointments with medical staff across all sites. This will provide patients with greater access to a wider range of services and availability.

In future, Channel View hopes the merger will benefit patients by enabling them to access more specialist care. Meanwhile, staff will have more opportunities for training and career development.

GPs, nurses and healthcare assistants will have access to a wider pool of clinical knowledge and expertise and more opportunities to specialise in areas such as diabetes, care of the elderly, palliative care and urgent care access.

The merger comes as the Channel View Medical Group pursues options to find a permanent premises or a new purpose built site.

The GP group has secured some funding to increase capacity short-term by moving administrative staff to office space near the Den practice and by turning additional rooms at the Courtenay Place practice into clinical space.

The group has extended the lease on its Den site for a further three years after its planned move into the health and wellbeing hub on Brunswick Street fell through due to spiralling costs.

However, the lease on its Den site can only be extended until April 2028, creating the need for a new surgery so the Channel View Medical Group continues to work with health bosses to review options over its future home.

The preferred option being mooted is to build a GP practice on the Brunswick Street site that was due to house the health and wellbeing centre.