TWO GP surgeries on Salisbury Plain are merging.

Cross Plain Surgery and Bourne Valley Practice are joining together to become the Salisbury Plain Health Partnership and will be covering a large section of Salisbury Plain and its villages, reaching from Shrewton to Ludgershall.

The merger follows four others in Wiltshire and it’s likely that others will follow if these mergers demonstrate ongoing success and improved care and services for patients.

The GP partners at the new Salisbury Plain Health Partnership say their patients will notice little difference in the buildings but should see improvements in the services offered.

Ruth Freeman, business partner and physiotherapist in the new practice, said: “By joining the two teams together we have all the benefit of more flexibility, streamlined administrative support and more available clinical time for our patients.”

Dr Stephen Rowlands, chairman of Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group officially opened the new venture on Thursday.

“It is a very exciting time in primary care,” he said. “We have the opportunity to make changes and this federation of practices may well be one of many as GPs across the county look at new ways of being more available to patients, both in hours and out of hours”