GP partners at the Botley Medical Centre have given notice on their contract to provide primary care services for their 13,400 registered patients.  This will also affect Kennington Health Centre.

 

The six month notice period is effective from 2 March 2023.

The current partners, Dr Aintzane Ballestero and Dr Diana McEwan, have made the decision following several challenging years which culminated at the end of January 2023 with the retirement of their colleague, Dr Mary Akinola. 

They have been unable to find a new partner to take on her workload and, like many other practices nationally, have struggled with recruitment of GPs and other practice staff. They have tried to find alternative ways to sustain the practice by changing services at Kennington, but have now decided they cannot continue long term in the face of significant increase in demand for services and their workforce shortages.  

This news will cause a lot of concern in the local community but it is the intention of the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board to keep services running at both sites in the long term.

We will be looking for a new provider to take on the contract and exploring the possibility of neighbouring GP practices running the surgeries. We will work closely with the Patient Participation Group and key stakeholders to find the best possible solution.

This information and the FAQS will be updated regularly on our progress.

The practice is not closing. The two remaining GP partners at the Botley Medical Centre have given six months’ notice (from 2 March 2023) to Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) that they intend to resign their contract. This means the practice will provide services as normal while the ICB and key stakeholders, including patient representatives, work together to find another GP team to take on the contract, with the aim of both Botley and Kennington sites continuing to offer primary care services in the long term. 

The decision has been difficult for the remaining GP partners. They have been unable to find a replacement for their colleague, Dr Mary Akinola who retired in January.

The practice has worked hard to find ways to keep going with a full range of services but despite the best efforts of its dedicated practice team, the GP partners felt they could not offer their patients the care they deserve in the long term due to workforce shortages and significant increase in demand.

There is no need for registered patients to do anything different. The practice will continue to provide services as usual whether that’s appointments with the practice team, repeat prescriptions, vaccinations, clinics etc, while the BOB ICB works to find another GP team to take on the contract.

The BOB ICB is the local NHS organisation which works to meet the health needs of local people, arranging for the provision of health services in the area and managing the budget. We are starting work with our key stakeholders, including patient representatives, to find another provider to take on the contract, with the aim of continuing services at both Botley and Kennington sites in the long term. 

The BOB ICB will undertake an appropriate procurement exercise to find a new provider to ensure that general medical services continue to be provided to the patients registered with Botley Medical Centre.

Patients do not need to take any action and should continue at the practice as normal.  The BOB ICB will ensure that regular updates are provided.