THE IMH Group will withdraw from primary care in Swindon after months of complaints and technical problems at five Swindon clinics.

The Swindon Clinical Commissioning Group confirmed that Integral Medical Holidngs will end its contract with  Moredon Medical Centre, Abbey Meads Medical Centre, Phoenix Surgery, Eldene Surgery and Taw Hill Medical Practice.

The group said the decision came "following lengthy discussions and in light of ongoing challenges". 

A CCG spokesman added: "Earlier this month, the CCG issued IMH with a remedial notice, which requires a provider to take immediate action when there is sufficient reason to believe a contract has been breached.

"However, following a meeting of the CCG, IMH and senior clinical staff, and due to the ongoing technical issues, IMH has agreed to end its contract with the five practices.

The CCG will now begin exploring and identifying with each of the practices the most appropriate solution going forward.

"The CCG fully acknowledges that the past nine months have been a difficult time for patients and we would like to thank the people of Swindon for their continued patience and understanding."

The IMH Group agreed to continue working in Swindon with oversight from the CCG while this contract termination process is carried out, so patients should continue to contact their surgery in the usual way and attend all pre-booked appointments as normal.

The trouble began back in September 2018, when the IMH Group started working in partnership with GP practices to provide a range of consolidated back-office services, such as administration, recruitment and IT services.

After IMH got involved, patients experienced difficulties when trying to contact their surgery and book appointments using the new single contact centre.

A CCG spokesman added: "Many of these issues have been linked to technical faults with the hardware system and, although engineers are currently working to address the problem, the CCG fully acknowledges that many patients are still experiencing issues.

"Further updates will be shared with patients as soon as any key decisions are made."