18 April 2023
To patients registered with Ivel Medical Centre, Biggleswade
Primary Care Team
3rd Floor Arndale House The Mall Luton LU1 2LJ
Tel: 0800 148 8890 Email: blmkicb.cbandlutonplaceteam@nhs.net Website: bedfordshirelutonandmiltonkeynes.icb.nhs.uk
Dear Patient(s)
Ivel Medical Centre, Biggleswade
This letter is for everyone living at this address who is registered as a patient at Ivel Medical Centre. Please share it with other members of your household if they are registered with the practice.
Following my letter dated 17 January 2023 when I informed you that the GP partners at Ivel Medical Centre had notified Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (ICB) of their decision to resign their contract providing GP primary care services, this letter is to provide you with an update.
I am pleased to advise that Malzeard Road Medical Centre (a practice already providing services in Luton) has been awarded a temporary contract of 18-24 months and will provide GP services at Ivel Medical Centre from Thursday 1 June 2023.
Malzeard Road Medical Centre is an established GP partnership which has experience of delivering healthcare across different sites. and will bring a level of resilience to the practice in Biggleswade. During the next year, Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (BLMK ICB) will actively engage with both patients and the new provider in order to design GP practice that meets the needs of the local population and provides stability for patients in the long term.
As a result of this contractual change, the dispensary service at Ivel Medical Centre will be end on 31 May 2023 and is due to changes in the national pharmaceutical regulations introduced in 2013. We are writing separately to all Ivel Medical Centre patients who usually collect their repeat prescriptions from the dispensary explaining alternative options.
What happens next?
If you and other members of your family are registered and currently receive services at Ivel Medical Centre, you do not need to do anything. All registered patients will continue to receive services from the practice as usual from Thursday 1 June 2023
What do I do if I have an appointment booked?
Appointments that are already booked will continue as planned. You may find that your appointment is with a different GP or healthcare professional.
I need to book an appointment to be seen after 1 June, what should I do?
Contact the practice and book your appointment in your usual way.
Will there be different staff at the practice?
Most of the staff will remain at the practice, there will also be some new staff.
Dispensing Patients
If you are registered as a dispensing patient, you will be receiving a letter with details of what you need to do.
I would like to change GP practices, what should I do?
You can find a list of practices which are close to your home on the Find a GP – NHS website: www.nhs.uk/service-search. Alternatively, email blmkicb.pccc@nhs.net or leave a voicemail message on telephone number 0800 148 8890 for details of practices close to you and someone will call you back. We would, however, encourage you to stay at Ivel Medical Practice for the time being and give the new providers a chance before you seek alternative GP services.
I would like to thank you for your understanding and co-operation at this time. If you have any queries about this letter, please contact: blmkicb.cbandlutonplaceteam@nhs.net
Yours faithfully
Nicky Poulain
Chief Primary Care Officer
Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board