9000 patients losing their GP as Portsmouth surgery announces closure due to lack of staff
Report by ITV Meridian's Derek Johnson
More than 9000 people in Cosham in Portsmouth have been told their GP practice will close next year due to a lack of staff.
North Harbour Medical Group - which runs the site on Vectis Way, says it has no choice but to close and those registered with them will be transferred to other surgeries in the area.
But, patients say they're worried that already overstretched practices won't be able to cope - as they struggle with their current numbers.
Patient Tina said she only found out her surgery was closing when she received a letter.
"It was quite a shock, as the last I heard they were moving premises, so when I heard it was closing I wondered what was going on.
"I just couldn't believe it.
"But then it made me angry. Because they are telling us not to go and look at other surgeries, and that we have to wait for them to tell us.
"Will they give us a list of tell us to go to a specific surgery.
"But also for people at other surgeries - they have difficulty getting in anyway so if you add another nine thousand of us, where are we all going to go?"
Patient Tina Mouland fears there wont' be enough space in other surgeries
In a statement a spokesperson for North Harbour Medical Group said: "We are sorry to announce that North Harbour Medical Group will be closing in spring next year.
"This difficult decision follows several planned departures from the practice of the practice’s senior leadership team, on both the medical and business operations side.
"We have been working closely with NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (HIOW ICB) and have formally given notice on our contract. We anticipate that the GP practice will close in spring 2023.
"We wanted to let you know as soon as possible and minimise any concerns and uncertainty by explaining what will happen next. You will also receive this information by post this week.
"What does this mean for patients? At the moment, you do not need to do anything. Our GP practice remains open and continues to offer all services as before.
"In spring, we will be moving all patients to other local GP practices. Please do not re-register yourself with another practice at this stage."
In a statement the MP for Portsmouth North Penny Mordaunt said: "GP per head provision in Portsmouth is low. This week I was notified of the closure of a major practice in Cosham stating that patients will be ‘migrated’ to other practices.
"There was no mention of additional resourcing or staff.
"This can only have been a swift decision. A couple of months ago I has discussing the new building that would be replacing the old health centre and contingency plans for this winter should the building fail and it not be possible to see patients.
“GPs are doing an incredible job to service the current demand. Some practices have asked to temporarily close their books to new patients. It is utterly unreasonable to force and entire GP practices lists onto the already strained surgeries in Portsmouth without additional resources.
"The commissioners must recognise Portsmouth as the major city it is, with a huge volume of often above average needs. It needs to focus on recruitment, on continuity of care and on providing an estate that is suitable.
“This will be a huge disruption of all those people, many of which will have other services delivered to them via this hub. I have raised this with the health secretary and asked for an urgent meeting with the IC board.”