Amalgamation of Lyme Regis Medical Centre and Lyme Bay Medical Practice

The Clinical Commissioning Group has now clarified that from 1st June the two Lyme Regis GP Practices will merge into a single Practice, led by Dr Forbes Watson.

This follows the announcement last November, communicated by letter to all patients at Lyme Regis Medical Centre, by press release, and through a drop-in question-and-answer session, that Virgin Care’s contract to run GP services at LRMC would cease on 31st May. 

At the time the CCG promised that more detail on what it called the ’alternative local arrangements’ would follow in due course.

The CCG has today issued a press release to update residents. 

We are promised more specific information from the Clinical Commissioning Group and from Dr Watson as details are worked through. It is expected that this will include a further explanatory letter to patients currently registered at Lyme Regis Medical Centre, as well as the open public event on Tuesday 9th April,...

A remnder that the next Partnership meeting is this Thursday, March 14th 2019, with the papers available here. Do come if you can, you don't have to be a member to attend.

The Clinical Commissioning Group has now clarified that the two Lyme Regis GP Practices will merge from 1st June 2019.

This follows the announcement last November, communicated by letter to all patients at Lyme Regis Medical Centre, by press release, and through a drop-in question-and-answer session, that Virgin Care’s contract to run GP services at LRMC would cease on 31st May 2019.

At the time the CCG promised that more detail on what it called the ’alternative local arrangements’ would follow in due course.

So we now know that from 1st June this year the Medical Centre and the Lyme Bay Medical Practice will join together as a single Practice, led by Dr Forbes Watson. The intention is for GP and nurse services currently provided at LRMC to continue, in the same building. The only significant difference will be that, instead of being employees of Virgin Care, the doctors and nurses will be employed directly by this single local Practice, while the two separate patient lists will become o...

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill has launched a consultation asking for public views on increasing the part of the council tax that funds local police. He is suggesting an extra £2 per month. This follows a government decision to enable Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to increase their part of the council tax up to a maximum of £24 per year.

Mr Underhill says that he is “immensely frustrated that the financial burden has, once again, been passed to local taxpayers and it is important that members of the public are under no illusion: this is a short-term fix that barely covers the need.”

He adds: “The government’s latest funding settlement does not address the considerable, and mainly unfunded, police pension issue, new training regime, plus inflationary and pay pressures, all of which have been thrust upon national policing. Nor does it reverse the eight years of austerity that have left Dorset Police with the lowest number of officers since 1981.

“Nevertheless,...

The Clinical Commissiong Group has published some Frequently Asked Questions (available here). The Option A referred to in the FAQs is available here.