A GP has defended the merger of two surgeries amid patients’ claims that care has deteriorated following the loss of familiar doctors and nurses.
Newton Place Surgery and Faversham Medical Practice announced plans to merge in February 2025 and the application has now been approved by NHS Kent and Medway.
Dr Gaurav Gupta with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Picture: Faversham Medical Practice
Some patients and healthcare professionals have raised concerns about staff turnover, appointment availability and the way the changes were communicated.
However, Dr Gaurav Gupta, managing partner of Faversham Medical Group, insists the move will make services more sustainable.
But Newton Place Surgery patient Jon Ralph, who requires regular pressure bandaging for problems with his legs, said care has “gone down” since experienced nurses left the practice.
The 73-year-old told KentOnline there are too many “agency staff”.
“Unless they get permanent staff in there, things won’t get better,” he said.
Mr Ralph said he previously received regular treatment from nurses who were familiar with his condition, but claims he has since struggled to access the same level of care.
Newton Place Surgery, Faversham
He said: “You’re waiting over four weeks before you can get an appointment. You could be dying.”
He also expressed concern about patients seeing doctors who are unfamiliar with their medical history.
“You’d be waiting for weeks – you’ll get 10 minutes to see them,” he added.
“The GP you would see is new. Therefore, they don’t have any experience with you.”
He said care at the surgery has got worse, adding: “It’s an absolute joke.”
Defending the merger, Dr Gupta said they had received “very good feedback” on service improvements, noting expanded physiotherapy, Saturday blood tests, and faster prescription turnarounds.
Faversham Medical Practice. Picture: Google
He said routine booking times had actually halved from four weeks to two and confirmed the patient-list merger process was currently underway.
While acknowledging some GPs had left over the past year, he stressed they are actively recruiting: “The practice is on track to increase GP numbers and provide more appointments.”
Dr Gupta confirmed routine slots were reduced from 15 to 10 minutes, but noted patients with complex needs can book 20-minute double appointments.
“There has been no reduction in services as a result of the merger,” he said.
A healthcare professional, speaking anonymously, echoed patient dissatisfaction on social media, claiming the public wasn’t properly consulted before the merger was announced on Facebook.
“There was no conversation with the public about why the merger was going ahead, what benefits it would bring or what problems it was intended to solve,” they told KentOnline.
Jon Ralph has been left frustrated by the merger of the two Faversham GPs
They described the loss of trusted, familiar GPs as a “tragedy.”
“These people, in the main, were well liked, well trusted and knew the place,” the source said.
They added: “Nobody is consulting or talking to the public about what is going on.
“There are continual pressures being put on services and nobody knows what’s happening.”
Addressing concerns about consultation, Dr Gupta said: “Staff have been consulted throughout the merger process and all due process has been followed.
“The practices have continued to share information regarding the merger with patients and Patient Participation Group (PPG) members.
“We have been working closely with NHS Kent and Medway and following their advice on communication with the community.
“We will continue to do more communications work and engage closely with our PPG and the Integrated Care Board (ICB).”
Dr Gupta also pointed to the two practices working together to help deliver approximately 1,500 meningitis vaccinations in Faversham.
“We appreciate there are still issues that cause frustration for some patients and we are working to address them and provide the best care possible,” he said.
A spokesperson for NHS Kent and Medway confirmed the merger has been formally approved.