The NHS has helped a GP practice in Southampton renew its lease after partners feared it may have to close due to delays in approving the rental amount meeting value for money criteria.
NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight plans and pays for healthcare services across the county, which includes ensuring people have local access to GP practice services.
NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight worked with both the practice partners from St Peters Surgery, landlord representative ASA Group and the District Valuer to agree the rent for the new lease to be signed, which secures the practice for the next 20 years.
James Roach, Director of Primary Care NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said: “We are pleased to say we were able to work with all partners involved and come to a positive resolution for patients at this practice.
“From the start we saw this issue as a priority and were committed to resolve it in a timely way to offer both patients and the practice peace of mind that services will continue from the current site.
“We hope this demonstrates to patients we are serious with our commitment to ensure local access to GP services, and we work hard to achieve this for residents across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.”
The practice, in Portsmouth Road, has 6,700 registered patients.
Partner and GP Dr Alison Robins said: “We are all so glad and relieved we’ve been able to agree on, and sign a new 20-year lease, to ensure our patients can continue to access services from our current site.
“At the heart of this we’ve always wanted to do the best for our patients, and I want to thank them for their support which means so much to us.”
Simon Harwood, director at ASA Group who represent the landlord, said on their behalf: “We are pleased system partners could come together at a local level and without the need to escalate to national arbitration to agree a new lease that represents value for money to the NHS”.