The partners at Parkwood Surgery in Hemel Hempstead have made the difficult decision that they are no longer able to continue as the contract holders for NHS GP services. We are putting a new contract in place with Fernville Surgery so that you will continue to have a general practice service, working out of Parkwood.
If you are registered with Parkwood Surgery, we realise that you may have questions about what happens next, so we have provided answers to some of the most frequently asked questions. We will keep this page updated with any new information when it becomes available.
We need to inform you of any changes to the general practice service you are registered with. The partners at Parkwood Surgery in Hemel Hempstead have made the difficult decision that they are no longer able to continue as the contract holders for NHS GP services.
The ICB has acted quickly to find a new provider for NHS GP services at Parkwood. This will be Fernville Surgery.
Fernville is a long-established and popular NHS practice which already serves patients in Hemel Hempstead – it is likely that you have friends and family who are registered with them. The partners at Fernville have a strong track record and were rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission at the most recent inspection.
Everyone at Fernville Surgery has worked very rapidly to put together an action plan so that they can run services from Parkwood Surgery as smoothly as possible.
Fernville Surgery will begin providing services from 1 October 2026.
Services will continue to be provided from Parkwood Surgery and we are working with the owner of the building to make arrangements for this to happen as smoothly as possible.
No. You will continue to have a NHS GP service and you will continue to be registered at Parkwood Surgery.
It is only the management arrangements which will change. The current partners will be leaving, and the partners at Fernville will take over the management of your care. Their contract is for 12 months to begin with, with the option to extend this for longer. The practices are not merging.
No, the contact details will not change. You can continue to use the same telephone number and you can also visit parkwoodsurgery.nhs.uk for online services.
You should continue to keep any appointments you already have, for any consultations, tests or courses of treatment which are being provided to you. If any appointments need to change then you will be informed.
We realise that patients and staff often develop mutually caring relationships over time. The GP partners who hold the contract for the practice will change. We hope many of the other staff working at the practice will be able to transfer their employment to Fernville Surgery if they wish, although this is a matter for the new provider and the staff themselves.
You have the right to change your practice at any time, subject to normal arrangements and the availability of new registrations at your preferred GP practice. You can find more information about this.
Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) manage and oversee GPs’ contracts locally through powers given to us by NHS England. We act as a strategic commissioner to ensure that services meet local health needs, and you can find out more about what we do.
Everybody who lives in England is covered by an ICB which serves their local area. We are Central East ICB, and we cover Hertfordshire as well as Bedfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
We expect the practice to complete its response to all complaints or Subject Access Requests where the deadline for responding falls on or before 30 September. They will hand over any which are not completed by this date to the staff at Fernville Surgery.
Fernville Surgery has a detailed plan to transfer the management of your care to them, including any appointments you may have already booked. Parkwood Surgery will remain open and services will still be provided there.
Fernville has a 12-month initial contract to provide services at Parkwood Surgery, with an option to extend this for longer.
No, these sites are permanently closed and they will not reopen.
The practice team has a robust action plan to manage the services at Parkwood. Patients who are registered at Fernville should not notice any difference in the services they receive. We hope that many of the staff already working at Parkwood will remain, and additional staff will be brought in where necessary to meet the needs of those registered at Parkwood.