The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Neighbouring surgery to take over practice after doctors walk out
A neighbouring practice is to temporarily take over the running of a troubled Aberdeen GP surgery after am ass walkout.
Denburn Medical Practice will take charge of the embattled Old Aberdeen, in Sunnybank Road, next month.
All nine GPs quit the practice in the run- up to Christmas in protest against potential changes in its management.
The Denburn GP partnership – which was the only applicant for the job – has signed a service level agreement( SLA) to run the Old Aberdeen for six months, until the long- term future of the medical centre is determined.
As a stop-gap, it provides some certainty for the 11,000 patients on the books of one of Aberdeen’s largest surgeries – which whistleblowers had warned would “collapse” due to the resignations.
The GPs walked out as Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership (ACHSCP) launched a search for private concerns to run six local authority practices.
Old Aberdeen is by far the largest of those, alongside Camphill, Carden, Marywell, Torry and Whinhill.
Aberdeen’ s other 22 doctors’ surgeries are already run by GP partnerships, as are the majority across Scotland – but insiders argued a special case should be made for Old Aberdeen due to its high student count, which brings in little income.
A spokesman confirmed Denburn would take over on February 1, adding: “AC H SC P invited all practices in Grampian to put for ward a note of interest.
“During the submission period, ACHSCP received one note of interest, which was from Denburn.
“The submission was fully evaluated prior to the award of the SLA and was judged to fully meet the practice’ s immediate requirements.”
Staff at the Sunnybank Medical Centre were riled by the decision of the integration joint board (IJB), which scrutinises the work of health and social care officials in Aberdeen, to vote through the tendering process – despite it proving least popular among employees during consultation.
Last night IJB chairwoman, Councillor
Sarah Duncan, said: “I welcome the partnership’s prompt and necessary action to secure this important agreement
“The recent GP resignations from Old Aberdeen made it imperative that the partnership moved swiftly to ensure continuity of care and I applaud them for making this happen so decisively and quickly.”
More than 1,000 people have signed a petition calling for the tendering process to be abandoned at Old Aberdeen, which it was hoped could open the door to a return for those GPs yet to secure other work.
However, one of the doctors – who is remaining anonymous – said last night’s news was the “nail in the coffin” of any immediate return.
Jonathan Juel- Beer, an organiser of the Save Old Aberdeen Medical Practice campaign, said: “Denburn now being awarded the SLA only goes to strengthen our suspicions.”
Fellow campaigner, John Singer, added: “The SLA is a temporary stop gap, so the fight against tendering will go on.
“It’s reckless and I think they have shown no consideration for patients, but outright contempt.”