MP Justin Tomlinson has maintained that a policy of making GP surgeries collaborate remains a good one.

Under the NHS Long Term Plan, all GP practices are required to be part of a primary care network by June 2019. In Swindon, there are three networks, of which IMH’s grouping of five surgeries is the smallest. The networks share some services, such as specialist nurses and back office functions.

In January, health think tanks the Nuffield Trust and Kings Fund said it was important the networks were not set up to fail by being forced to take on too many services too quickly.

But Justin Tomlinson said the policy was sound: “When working properly, primary care networks are a positive improvement to primary care as they allow better access to GPs and clinicians, reduce the bureaucracy that GPs have to deal with, create better links between GP surgeries and other NHS services and encourage more GPs to work in local practice.

“We have already seen this model working well through the Wyvern Health Partnership in Swindon, so I hope that IMH can sort out the phone issues and start delivering an improved service all round.”

Dr Diaper of IMH said: “We believe the lessons we have learned in Swindon will help others moving to primary care networks across the country.”