Northumbria Primary Care agrees to takeover Valens Medical Partnership GP surgeries in Ashington, Morpeth, Cramlington, Newbiggin, and more

NPC’s acquisition of Valens Medical Partnership has been agreed by leadership of both organisations pending final sign-off by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, the sole shareholder of NPC.

This means Valens-run surgeries in Cramlington, Ashington, Lynemouth, Morpeth, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Pegswood, Seaton Delaval, and Seaton Sluice could be taken over by January 2024.

In a statement on the Valens website, executive GP partner Dr Aamir Munir said: “This is a welcome move which will allow us to continue to ensure that our practice remains sustainable.

“It will mean that we can deliver what is expected from primary care now and into the future.”

He added: “We assure our patients that we would not be pursuing this if we did not believe that we can deliver better care. Improving access is also a top priority.”

Once the acquisition is complete, NPC will have 500 employees and care for 135,000 patients across Northumberland and North Tyneside.

In a statement, NPC said: “We wish to assure stakeholders that we would not be pursuing coming together if we did not believe that we can deliver more holistic, patient centred and sustainable care for our patients as a result.

“Also, at the core of our decision making is ensuring we can further develop, retain and recruit a skilled, talented and dedicated workforce and that we can embrace technology and estate opportunities to enable us to be innovative in our approach to patient care.

The statement continued: “NPC and Valens Medical Partnership will continue to work through the details that we need to over the coming months.

“Part of this will be the sub-contracting of Valens services to NPC being approved by the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board and undertaking the relevant internal HR processes.”

Valens patients will not need to re-register or take any other action as a result of the merger.

Dr Munir said: “Patients will see no immediate change to the services provided by Valens Medical Partnership.

“Neither will you see any immediate change to our current practice name, opening times, or contact details.

“The doctors, nurses, and support staff that you see will all remain the same.”