A MANCHESTER-based GP firm responsible for restructuring five Swindon surgeries – reducing the number of staff by more than 50% – has been accused of having the “emotional intelligence of a wounded rhino”.

Integral Medical Holdings oversees Taw Hill, Eldene and Phoenix (Toothill) surgeries and the Abbey Meads and Moredon medical centres.

The firm, which last year had a turnover of £37.5m, says the setting-up of a central hub responsible for booking appointments and triaging patients will make it easier for people to book appointments and allow extra services to be offered, such as physiotherapy and pharmacy.

But staff have criticised the plans, saying they are being waved through without being scrutinised by patient groups. One anonymous member of staff said of IMH: “They have the emotional intelligence of a wounded rhino.”

Restructure plans will see 75 staff squeezed into the equivalent of 36 full-time roles.

One long-time staff member told the Advertiser: “Staff are devastated. We’re busy all day every day. Cutting staff is dangerous. We’re so worried that something will get missed.”

She added: “IMH has not met with any Patient Participation Groups. These plans are being pushed through without any input from patients.”

IMH hit back at the allegations. Dr David Jones, chief medical officer at the firm, said of the restructure plans: “This project follows the General Practice Forward View, commissioned by NHS England, and will see us improving the way in which our practices operate, providing more specific, dedicated roles and responsibilities to our teams.

“We will continue to deliver all of our current services but are changing the way patients access them to ensure an equitable offering across the five practices. We believe access to appointments will improve and we are stronger and can deliver more for our patients as a collective group. We would like to stress that clinical access for patients is not impacted by these changes.

“Throughout the process, we have been closely engaging with NHS Swindon CCG and the Care Quality Commission to ensure we get this right.

“We have also been in direct and ongoing contact with all of the established patient participation groups relevant to our Swindon practices. We have outlined what we are trying to achieve for patients in the Swindon area, and have continued to facilitate discussions to address any queries they may have.”

Staff were being offered assistance through the restructure, Dr Jones said.

Nicki Millin of Swindon NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We have been assured by IMH that job losses will only happen as an absolute last resort and that colleagues affected in this way will be offered new employment in a similar role elsewhere in Swindon.”