Town surgery set to move out of primary care centre

Doctors are planning to shut down a surgery in Seaham.

The New Seaham Medical Group(NSMG)hasannounced its intention to move out of Seaham Primary Care Centre.

Medics will instead move to the group’s second site in Eastlea, which they say will safeguard provision in the east of the town.

Health chiefs spoke at Durham County Council’s Adults, Wellbeing and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee to justify the proposals.

Dr Robin Armstrong told the panel: “We’re currently splitting what resources we have between two sites.

“The site in the St John’s Square is in a health centre with another practice.

“The choice was whether to pull out of the St John’s site or close the Eastlea site, but that would leave no provision in the east of Seaham at all.

“It’s very much a case of having to rationalise ourselves as a practice and pick the best plan to provide service for the patients.”

The decision to leave Seaham Primary Care Centre, in St John’s Square, would still leave patients in the town centre with access to the Marlborough Surgery, which also operates from the care centre.

And Dr Armstrong reassured councillors practices in the area would have capacity to accept patients affected by the NSMG closure.

He added about 40 patients have already left NSMG since the group announced its plans to leave the town centre.

“We’re the only practice in the areas that operates from two sites,” Antony White, the practice’s business manager, told the committee.

“The practice needs to make sure it is more attractive to recruiting GPs in the future.

“We want to have all our services operated from the same building, we don’t want anyone working from an isolated position.”

A public consultation on the plans started in December and is due to run until Tuesday, February 5.