Dear patients

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to provide us with feedback on the proposed merger of our practice with NPC Cramlington.

Your feedback helps us understand what our patients think about the proposal and identify areas of concern we need to address.

The next step in this process is for us to submit our proposal to the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB). This proposal will include all the feedback that you have provided us with. Once the NENC ICB decide on the proposal, we will inform you of the outcome. Should the proposal be approved, we will let you know the next steps.

While we await this decision, we would like to take this opportunity to address some of the feedback that we have received. Please see the FAQs below:

Q. Would I be made to go to NPC Cramlington for my appointments?

A. No. Your appointments would remain at NPC Elsdon Avenue. You may also be able to access clinics like a flu vaccine drop-in or enhanced access clinics at NPC Cramlington, if it better fits your schedule. This relationship between the practices has existed informally for several years.

Q. Would NPC Cramlington patients take appointments at NPC Elsdon Avenue?

A. No. NPC Cramlington patients would continue to receive appointments at their surgery. As mentioned in the previous question, NPC Cramlington patients may choose to attend clinics like flu vaccine drop-ins or enhanced access clinics at NPC Elsdon Avenue. This would not impact NPC Elsdon Avenue patients’ ability to access care.

Q. Would NPC Elsdon Avenue move out of Seaton Delaval or close?

A. No. We would not close NPC Elsdon Avenue. The practice would also remain in Seaton Delaval. We are aware of online comments that claim the practice will be moving to Cramlington, but they are not true.

Q. Will this impact the proposed new build for NPC Elsdon Avenue? What is the status of this?

A. This will have no impact on the new build for NPC Elsdon Avenue. We are still in talks with developers regarding this. We will provide an update to patients as this process progresses.

Q. The call wait times at the practice can be quite long. Would the merger address this?

A. We have been working hard to reduce our call wait times. We know that waiting on the phone can be frustrating. Last June, our average call wait time was 43 seconds. Last month (June 2026), we had reduced this to 26 seconds. We have also introduced an option for patients to receive a callback if their wait goes beyond 2 minutes.

Q. Would this merger involve NPC Seaton Terrace?

A. No. NPC Seaton Terrace is a branch surgery of NPC Northumbria Way. NPC Northumbria Way is based in the Northumbria Health and Care Academy, near the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital. This is a different GP practice to NPC Cramlington, which islocated near the Manor Walks shopping centre.