The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Lack of GPs blamed for health centre’s closure
More than 3,500 GP patients in Angus have been told they will be transferred to a new doctor after the closure of their surgery was confirmed.
Friockheim Health Centre will shut at the end of this month, despite a petition and efforts by NHS Tayside to keep the centre open.
The last remaining GP, Dr Karen Scallan, announced in February that she would terminate the contract to run the practice after a near twoyear search for replacement doctors failed.
A statement released by the health centre at the time, and signed by Dr Scallan, said: “We have continued to operate with a salaried GP and some locum GP cover since May 2021.
“While we had good cover during the last few months, we are finding it more difficult to obtain locum GP cover for the next few months due to the severe shortage of GPs generally.
“We are sorry to find ourselves in this situation. We don’t want to let all our patients down but one GP cannot continue to carry more than 3,500 patients by herself.”
Since the announcement NHS Tayside has been assessing several options – including taking over the running of the practice directly – but has now confirmed the closure at the end of the month.
Writing to patients about the decision, the health board said: “The main issue that is facing primary care and GP services is that there are not enough GPs.
“You may be aware that Friockheim Health Centre had been trying for a number of years to recruit more GPs without success.”
Last month, GPs in other parts of Angus said they were already struggling to cope with spiralling patient lists as practices in Forfar and Kirriemuir launched a joint objection to plans for new housing in the area.
NHS Tayside says it is trying to make the transfer to other practices as “seamless and easy for patients” as possible and that patients do not need to do anything.
“NHS Tayside will register patients with another GP local to where they live and they will automatically transfer on June 1 to their new practice,” it added.
“We will write to patients again very soon to give the details of their new GP and some more information.”
Scottish Conservative MSP Maurice Golden said: “It’s bitterly disappointing that this GP practice will close, especially as the practices to which patients are being moved appear to be already overstretched.
“What will be of wider concern is the stark admission from the health board that there simply aren’t enough GPs.”
He said there had been warnings “for years about training sufficient numbers of doctors and nurses”.
The Scottish Government has said it is committed to increasing the number of GPs in Scotland.