Merger of seven Somerset GP surgeries delayed by legal issues
Legal delays push back creation of ‘Symphony South Healthcare’ until later this year
The planned merger of seven Somerset medical centres has been held up as a result of outstanding legal issues.
Symphony Healthcare Services currently manages seven doctors’ surgeries across four contracts within the South Somerset West primary care network (PCN), in addition to other surgeries across the county.
The provider – a subsidiary of the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust – indicated in late-July 2025 that it wished to formally combine these four contracts, allowing it to offer a wider range of services to patients across all seven sites.
The NHS Somerset integrated care board (ICB – which decides how health funding is allocated across the county) signed off on the proposals in late-November 2025, with the merger originally being intended to take effect in mid-January.
But Symphony has now apologised to patients after the merger was delayed until later in the year, due to “unexpected delays in some of our legal processes”.
The South Somerset West PCN currently comprises the following GP surgeries:
Crewkerne Health Centre, Middle Path, Crewkerne
West One Surgery, A30 West Street, Crewkerne
The Ilchester Surgery, B3151 Church Street, Ilchester
Martock Surgery, Church Street, Martock
The Buttercross Health Centre, Behind Berry, Somerton
South Petherton Medical Centre, Bernard Way, South Petherton
Hamdon Medical Centre, Matt’s Lane, Stoke-sub-Hamdon
Ilchester Surgery is currently run under the same contract as the Buttercross Health Centre, with a similar arrangement being in place between Martock and South Petherton.
Each of the practices currently enjoy a ‘good’ rating following inspections by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The new practices will be coming together under the ‘Symphony South Healthcare’ moniker – but each surgery will get to keep its own name.
Symphony published an apology to patients on its official website on Thursday (January 22), outlining the reasons for the delays.
A spokesperson said: “There will be a further delay to this process, and we are now expecting to complete our plans later in the year.
“This is due to unexpected delays in some of our legal processes which are outside of our control.
“We originally believed that a short delay this month would allow enough time to make these changes; however, progress has not been as quick as intended with the external parties involved.
“The extended delay will not only allow these necessary changes to occur but will provide our teams additional time to continue to build relationships, develop roles, and support the programmes of work that are already under way to improve patient care and services.
“We are sorry for any confusion or inconvenience this has caused. Our staff are equally disappointed as they have put a huge amount of work into making these changes occur.”
A full FAQ for patients and family members can be found by visiting www.hamdonmc.co.uk/sswpcn-contract-merger.
As part of the merger, there will be no immediate change to any clinical or administrative staffing at any of the seven locations, and no existing patient will have to either re-register with their existing practice or move across to another.
Appointment requests will still be reviewed in the same way, with those with the greatest need being prioritised.
The spokesperson added: “We will update patients closer to the change as soon as details are confirmed.
“In the meantime, please be assured that each surgery will continue to run as normal and you should continue to contact us as you normally would.”