Patients in Somerset are set to benefit from £1m boost
The funding will allow for extra appointments
Sixteen GP surgeries in Somerset will share just over £1m of government funding to expand their premises and provide a better experience for patients.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced on May 6 that it would be sharing more than £102m across more than 1,000 GP practices across the UK, allowing the practices to expand.
This bricks and mortar investment will help the NHS to deliver an extra 8.3 million appointments each year, improving the service being offered to patients as part of Labour’s ten-year plan to future-proof and modernise the health service.
The NHS Somerset integrated care board (ICB) has now confirmed that 16 practices within its catchment area will share just over £1m between them – with the majority of practices still developing their expansion plans for government approval.
The 16 Somerset GP practices which will benefit from this funding are as follows:
Axbridge & Wedmore Medical Practice, Houlgate Way, Axbridge
Beckington Family Practice, St. Luke’s Road, Beckington
Church Street Surgery, Church Street, Martock
Church View Medical Centre, Broadway Road, Broadway
Crewkerne Health Centre, Middle Path, Crewkerne
East Quay Medical Centre, East Quay, Bridgwater
Edington Surgery, Broadway, Edington
French Weir Health Centre, French Weir Avenue, Taunton
Glastonbury Surgery, Feversham Lane, Glastonbury
Highbridge Medical Centre, Alfred Court, Highbridge
Langport Surgery, A378 North Street, Langport
Lister House Surgery, B3227 Croft Way, Wiveliscombe
Quantock Vale Surgery, Mount Street, Bishop’s Lydeard
Vine Surgery, Hindhayes Lane, Street
Warwick House Surgery, Upper Holway Road, Taunton
Wincanton Health Centre, Dyke’s Way, Wincanton
Each of the practices being supported by the government’s primary care utilisation and modernisation fund will be provided with capital funding to build new consultation and treatment rooms, or substantially remodel their existing premises to make better use of existing space.
It does not cover the day-to-day running costs associated with running a surgery, such as the salaries of hiring more doctors or practice nurses – with these being met through the budgets of individual surgeries.
However, the improved working conditions is designed not only to improve patients’ experience but to make the given practices more attractive to potential staff, aiding with ongoing recruitment and retention.
A spokesman for the NHS Somerset ICB said: “Somerset’s allocation of the utilisation and modernisation fund is £1,021,000.
“NHS Somerset holds the funding following allocation by NHS England. This is then reimbursed to the individual GP practices, in accordance with approved business plans and up to the agreed amount to be spent.
“The practices are currently getting detailed costs and submitting business cases to NHS England for approval.
“Currently 15 practices are developing their plans under this funding arrangement.
“Planning permission is not likely to be required in most cases as the funding is for internal improvements to existing premises.”
Langport Surgery (also known as the North Street Surgery) secured planning permission from Somerset Council for its expansion in August 2024, with the ICB confirming in January 2025 that its final business case for the project was almost complete.
Health secretary Wes Streeting MP said this represented the biggest investment in GP facilities in five years, and formed part of the government’s wider £26bn investment in the NHS in a bid to get patients out of acute hospitals and into their local communities.
Speaking on May 6, he said: “It will be a long road, but this government is putting in the work to fix our NHS and make it fit for the future.
“These are simple fixes for our GP surgeries but for too long they were left to ruin, allowing waiting lists to build and stopping doctors treating more patients.
“It is only because of the necessary decisions we took in the budget that we are able to invest in GP surgeries, start tackling the 8am scramble and deliver better services for patients.
“The extra investment and reform this government is making, as part of its Plan for Change, will transform our NHS so it can once again be there for you when you need it.”