Two Luton GP practices to join 'outstanding' NHS trust

Dedicated healthcare teams from two Luton GP practices are set to join East London NHS Foundation Trust this autumn.

Kingsway Health Centre and Bramingham Park Medical Centre will join the trust, which is rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), on October 1.

The two practices have more than 30 staff and provide care to more than 16,000 members of the Luton community.

The Luton practices will join the ELFT Primary Care Directorate, which includes Leighton Road Surgery in Leighton Buzzard, Cauldwell Medical Centre in Bedford and East London’s Newham Transitional Practice, Health E1 and Greenhouse practices.

The new contract will see Bramingham Park Medical Centre become a branch surgery of Kingsway Health Centre, providing stability and shared expertise and support for teams and patients across both sites.

ELFT is also a provider of NHS mental health and community health services across Bedfordshire.

“This is an exciting and significant step forward for the Trust as part of our work to deliver innovative and integrated care for the communities we are proud to support,” said Dr Mohit Venkataram, ELFT executive lead for primary care.

“Our responsibility will be to provide the tools and support to empower new colleagues and service users from both practices in identifying priorities and shaping care that reflects the needs of their communities.

"The exciting opportunity to deliver population health for our communities with community, mental health and primary care services is the reason ELFT developed a primary care offer."

Dr Venkataram added the partnership work across both practices, and with partner organisations across Luton, would reflect the priorities set out nationally through the NHS England Fuller stocktake report.

The priorities are a focus on a local population health approach through building neighbourhood teams, streamlining access and helping people to stay healthy.

The practices will also support ELFT’s work as the first Marmot Trust in the country, testing the boundaries of what an NHS Trust can do to tackle some of the drivers of poor health, such as poverty and unemployment.