What Is the £1.9 Million Premises Funding?

In May 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care announced a £100 million national investment to modernize over 1,000 GP surgeries across England. Of this, £1.9 million was allocated specifically to Derby and Derbyshire GP practices. The aim is to create more clinical space, improve facilities, and enable practices to see more patients, ultimately boosting productivity and patient care.

What this will mean for our patients

Key Benefits:

·        More Appointments: The funding will support improvement projects across Derby and Derbyshire, creating space for additional appointments.

·       Better Facilities: Upgrades include new clinical rooms, triage areas, and consultation spaces, making it easier for patients to access care in a comfortable and modern environment.

·        Improved Access: Some practices will see extensions, conversions of unused rooms, and reconfiguration of existing spaces to maximize clinical capacity.

Why Is This Happening?

Clive Newman, Director of Primary Care for NHS Derby and Derbyshire, explained that GP staff need enough appropriate clinical space to provide high-quality care, whether in person, by phone, or by video. Sometimes, the lack of space limits how many patients can be seen. This funding is designed to remove those barriers and support the health needs of the local population.

How will this affect The Park Surgery and our Patients?

We are fortunate to have bid successfully for a small proportion of the funding (approximately £90k).  Work will involve relocating the practice entrance to enable us to convert the current foyer area and storeroom into two new consulting rooms. 

 The additional space will allow us to:-

• Improve access for patients as we will have sufficient clinical  space to expand the clinical team and offer additional            appointments as a result.

• Host additional services from the ARRS PCN roles – such as clinical pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, Mental Health GPA assistants, etc.  Bringing more services closer to home for patients.

• Offer more medical student and GP registrar placements – being able to support these staff helps to shape the future of general practice and ensure that there are clinicians for future generations.

• Support the local community and the ever changing and diverse needs of our patient population. We hope the expansion of clinical space will improve the service and experience for our patients.

How will the work be carried out?

•      Contractors: Each funded practice will appoint contractors to undertake the building and improvement works.

•      Planning: Planning permission is already in place so work can proceed without delay.

•      Timeline: The improvement programme is scheduled for the 2026 year, with the goal of delivering benefits as soon as possible.

       What should patients expect?

•       Minimal disruption: the Practice will aim to minimise disruption during building works.

•       More Appointment Options: Once completed, patients         should notice increased availability of appointments and       improved facilities.

Important Update: Changes to Some Services We Provide

At The Park Surgery, our priority is always to provide safe, high-quality care to all our patients. To do this, we must focus our time and resources on the services we are funded and contracted to deliver.

Following national guidance from the British Medical Association (BMA), and due to increasing pressure on general practice, we will no longer be able to provide a number of unfunded services from 15 December 2025.

These include:

·         ABPI/Doppler tests for compression hosiery measurement or repeat prescribing

·         Long-term monitoring of patients with:
  - Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL)
  - Coeliac disease

·         Monitoring of patients with eating disorders while awaiting or under specialist care

·         Specialist drug monitoring and titration for gender dysphoria

We understand this may be concerning, but these services are not part of our core NHS contract and have not been commissioned or funded for delivery in general practice. Continuing to provide them without support puts significant strain on our team and risks impacting the care we are contracted to provide for all patients.

We are giving the Derby & Derbyshire Integrated Care Board(DDICB) three months’ notice so they can make arrangements to commission these services either from general practice or elsewhere in the health system.

✅ Why this matters for your care:

By focusing on our core responsibilities, we can ensure that we are available when you need us most — for urgent issues, long-term condition management, and essential health services.

We appreciate your understanding and support as we work to keep general practice safe, sustainable, and focused on what matters most: your health.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the practice team.