Teignmouth’s Channel View Medical Group is set to gain more than 5000 patients this summer as the GP surgery merges with the Teign Estuary Medical Practice.

The combined practice will take effect following the retirement of Teign Estuary partners, Dr Julian Squires and Dr Tamsin Venton, at the end of May.

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.

‘We understand this change may be concerning. However, we want to reassure you that there will be no impact or disruption on patient care, and no changes to the way you access services. We are confident that patients will be well cared for as part of the new arrangement,’ senior partners from both surgeries said in a statement.

Channel View hopes it will be able to combine both GP practice IT systems 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’, the surgery explained.

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.

‘Our GPs nurses and healthcare assistants will have access to a wider pool of clinical knowledge and expertise,’ a Channel View spokesperson said. They will have ‘greater 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 continues to work with health bosses to review options over its future home. 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.

The Group is working to find a permanent premises that will now have to account for the 5,200 additional Teign Estuary patients.

‘Securing a solution is a top priority for Devon Integrated Care Board and they are working closely with Channel View and the local council to achieve this,’ a spokesperson from Channel View Medical Group said.

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.

The proposed merger between Channel View and Teign Estuary is set to take effect in June 2025 once the GP groups have satisfied regulatory requirements and consulted with patients and staff.