Gideon Amos vows to fight for more GPs in Wellington
It's ahead of the closure of Luson Surgery - which has more than 6600 patients on the books
Last updated 31st Jul 2025
Wellington's MP Gideon Amos says he is 'vowing' to fight for more general practitioners in the region after the announcement that Luson Surgery in Fore Street is to close.
Luson Surgery is a small, two-partner practice with a list size of just over 6600 patients.
He said in a statement today: “It’s desperately disappointing to hear the news about Luson but, having spent time with the team at Wellington Health Centre, I know they will be well cared for there.
“I’d like to pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of local GPs and healthcare staff at both surgeries.
“If Wellington is to grow in population in line with the government’s housing plans – including a 41% increase in planned housing numbers in Somerset – then the town will desperately need more GPs and ultimately a new surgery to cater for them.
“Residents rightly want to see new infrastructure, such as more GPs, before new housing is built and that’s what I’m going to be campaigning for.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said:
“GPs are the front door to the NHS and we have already recruited more than 2,000 GPs in the last year.
“We have also delivered 7 million addition GP appointments to improve access for patients.
“Through our 10 Year Health Plan we are delivering Neighbourhood Health Services that deliver more personalised, proactive care in local areas where it is more convenient for patients.”
'Ongoing resilience and sustainability challenges'
In a statement, NHS Somerset confirmed: "Despite the best efforts of the team at Luson Surgery and NHS Somerset, there have been ongoing resilience and sustainability challenges faced by the practice over the last 12-18 months. This is largely due to GP staffing and premises challenges, ultimately impacting on the financial sustainability of the practice.
"NHS Somerset has been involved throughout this time, supporting partners at Luson Surgery to find a long-term sustainable solution.
"Unfortunately, a long-term sustainable solution could not be found. This has led to GP partners at Luson Surgery making the difficult decision to resign their contract to provide GP services. The practice will close and cease offering General Practice services on Friday 26 September 2025.
"GP Partners at Luson Surgery and Wellington Medical Centre along with NHS Somerset have worked together to ensure that there is a plan that supports continuity of care for the affected patients following the Surgery closing on Friday 26th September 2025.
"We are pleased to confirm that patients currently registered at Luson Surgery, will be automatically transferred to Wellington Medical Centre from Monday 29 September 2025.
"Once the initial transfer has taken place, if patients registered at Luson prefer, they can choose to transfer their care to another nearby GP practice (patients will need to wait for four weeks to do this).
"NHS Somerset is working at pace, directly with Wellington Medical Centre to ensure there is sufficient staffing and resources in place by September to enable them to accommodate all patients from Luson Surgery, while continuing to offer excellent quality care to patients already registered at Wellington Medical Centre.
"Staff at Luson Surgery have been informed about the contract resignation and patient transfer to Wellington Medical Centre. Staff at Luson Surgery are being offered support.
"All patients are being contacted by letter and via text/NHS App, to let them know there will be no disruption to their care and that they will automatically be transferred to Wellington Medical Centre.
"Patients can exercise patient choice and transfer to another local practice if they prefer, following a period of 4 weeks after transfer to Wellington Medical Centre
"NHS Somerset will continue to keep stakeholders updated."
You can find out more details about the surgery's closure on the NHS website.