The team running a community doctors’ surgery in Brighton has thanked all those patients and partners who rallied round over the past few months.

Their message was sent after health chiefs said that they were halting the current process to award a new contract for family doctor services in the Whitehawk area.

Wellsbourne Healthcare Community Interest Company (CIC) was set up as a not-for-profit organisation to run the practice after a previous private provider pulled out.

But the contract to provide health care in Whitehawk was due to expire and the Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB) – also known as NHS Sussex – started a procurement process which was open to other qualified organisations.

The ICB published a notice earlier this year saying that it intended to award the £10.4 million contract to a business based in Leeds.

The team running the surgery appealed against the decision and the Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, Chris Ward, started a petition.

This afternoon (Thursday 24 July) Mr Ward, said: “Delighted to announce Wellsbourne Healthcare CIC will continue to serve our local community.

“After months of local campaigning, NHS Sussex has now paused the procurement process that could have seen a private provider replace Wellsbourne.

“Huge thank you to the 4,000-plus people who signed my petition to keep Wellsbourne in community hands.

“This is a victory for staff, patients and everyone in Whitehawk.”

The surgery said: “Wellsbourne Healthcare CIC will continue to serve our local community while NHS Sussex consider next steps

“We welcome NHS Sussex’s decision to bring the current procurement process for the Whitehawk health GP contract to a close.

“At Wellsbourne Healthcare CIC, our priority has always been the delivery of high-quality care to our patients.

“We’ve served the East Brighton community for over seven years, and our roots here run deep.

“We hope this decision marks a step towards a more stable future, one that recognises the value of relationships, continuity and listens to the voice of this community.

“We’ll continue to work constructively with NHS Sussex and keep you updated as we learn more.

“We are pleased that NHS Sussex has recognised the need to pause and reflect before deciding next steps.

“We remain committed to supporting patients, staff and the wider East Brighton community.

“Thank you to all our patients and partners for your support, it has been fantastic to hear from so many of you over the last few months.”

NHS Sussex said that it was calling an end to the current Whitehawk contract process to consider its next steps.

It said: “NHS Sussex is announcing today that it is stopping the current procurement for a new contract for GP services in the Whitehawk area of Brighton and Hove.

“It follows receiving the national Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel’s report regarding the proposed contract award for an alternative provider medical services (APMS) primary care service in the area.

“The Independent Panel’s findings confirm that NHS Sussex’s preparations for the procurement were in line with the national Provider Selection Regime (PSR) but found that there were four areas in terms of how it carried out the process that were not line with these rules.

“As a conclusion, the panel recommended going back to an earlier stage in the procurement process (to the publication of a new contract notice and issuance of ITT documentation) to address the issues identified by the panel.

“Taking this into account, and the strong public feedback in recent weeks, NHS Sussex has taken a decision to stop the current process and consider how we can best ensure high-quality services for the local population.”

NHS Sussex chief integration and primary care officer Amy Galea said: “We remain committed to delivering high-quality, value-for money-GP services in Whitehawk that meets the needs of the local community.

“We have received the report from the panel and need to take this into account and also recognise all of the feedback that we have received from service users, residents and partners over recent weeks.

“Our ambition has always been to ensure that there is the best possible GP services offered to the local residents in this area of the city and we will now consider our options to see how best to achieve this.

“In the meantime, it is important to assure all patients at the current practice that there is no change to their current services and people should access help and support from the practice in the usual ways.”