GP practice in Cramlington welcomes back its founding doctor to officially open new surgery

Brockwell Medical Group in Cramlington relocated its GP practice from the Brockwell Centre to the new Health and Care Academy building near Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital last month.

As part of the move, which follows the practice joining Northumbria Primary Care in January, the surgery was rebranded as NPC Northumbria Way.

Dr Alan Dove, who worked at the original surgery from its opening in 1980 until his retirement in 2016, was invited to officially open the new space.

He said: “The surgery I opened in 1980 was based in two Portacabins, which were joined together. I ran the practice alongside one district nurse, a health visitor, and our receptionist. By the end of the first month we had 1,000 patients.

“We needed 7,000 patients to get approval to build our new permanent surgery, which we did in 1990. It was named after the Brockwell coal seam. Our team had grown by then, as had the number of patients we were caring for.

“By 2005 the practice had 15,000 patients and three other surgeries located in Seaton Delaval and Seaton Sluice had joined the Brockwell practice.”

Dr Dove, who decided to become a GP aged 10 when his friend died from polio and qualified as a GP at Newcastle University, added: “I think it is wonderful that the practice has moved into such a fantastic space, fit for modern day healthcare.

“The issue with Brockwell surgery, even when I was still there, was the lack of space and how this restricted some of the things we wanted to do for patients. I am delighted that the move will enable more partnership working and more joined up care.”

The Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group approved the 2.2 mile move in May 2022 after a six-week consultation.

The practice, which cares for 11,000 patients and has around 60 staff, is currently accepting new patients.

Patients that are not able to organise their own transport to the surgery can book free transport via the practice reception thanks to a partnership with Age UK.

Dr Aamir Munir, director of transformation at Northumbria Primary Care and a GP partner at NPC Northumbria Way, said: “I am so excited that we have moved into a space which is bright, welcoming, and will significantly improve patient and staff experience.

“A huge amount of thought, planning, and effort has gone into this and we want to assure patients that they have been at the centre of all our decisions.

“One of the absolute priorities was ensuring that we have the space to provide care to patients that is tailored to and centred around their needs. A big part of achieving this is working with more partners, which we can do now as we have the space and are also co-located with some of Northumbria Healthcare’s community team.

“It has been lovely to welcome patients to their new NPC Northumbria Way surgery and our team is settling in well.”

The building will also be used by a new pharmacy, as a health professional education facility, and for other Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust uses.

The former Brockwell site remains under NHS ownership and will be used by community teams.