More than 2,000 patients need a new doctor after another Brighton surgery prepared to close its doors.
The Lewes Road surgery is to close on Tuesday 31 January after the departure of Amrut Shah, who first qualified as a doctor in 1968.
It is the seventh surgery to close in less than two years in Brighton and Hove.
NHS England has written to the 2,300 patients, saying: “Dr Shah asked us just before Christmas to end his contract to run Lewes Road Surgery. He has since stepped down from his role as a GP.
“Having given careful consideration to all factors, we have determined that we will need to ask you to register with another local GP practice in order to guarantee your ongoing care after (Tuesday) 31 January.
“We would recommend that you register with another GP practice as soon as possible to avoid any interruption to your care.
“We are working closely with staff from Lewes Road Surgery and other local GP practices to make sure everyone can register with another local GP practice and to support you to do this.
“We appreciate this is a difficult situation but as there is no longer a permanent GP in place to oversee the day-to-day running of Lewes Road Surgery we cannot guarantee you will be able to get any care you need at the surgery and it will have to close on (Tuesday) 31 January.
“The surgery has been using locum GPs to provide some appointments over recent weeks but this is not a situation that is sustainable and we have to make sure there are secure arrangements in place for your long-term care.”
Four nearby surgeries are registering patients – St Peter’s Medical Centre, Park Crescent Health Centre, the Pavilion Surgery and the Ship Street Surgery.
NHS England added in its letter to patients: “There are also a number of other GP practices in Brighton and Hove with open patient lists and you can find details of the GP practices closest to where you live on the NHS Choices website at www.nhs.uk. You can also call us on 01293 729298, or email england.primarycare.southeast@nhs.net if you need any help finding a new GP practice.
“Please note that Ardingly Court Practice and The Broadway Surgery, which both run GP surgeries in Wellsbourne Health Centre in Whitehawk, have said that they are unable to register any new patients at the current time.
“Please be assured that there is enough space across all the GP practices in Brighton and Hove to ensure that all Lewes Road Surgery patients will be able to register with a new local GP practice.”
NHS England said: “Following Dr Shah’s decision to end his contract to run Lewes Road Surgery and to step down as a GP just before Christmas, we have had to swiftly secure arrangements to ensure the ongoing care of his patients.
“We have liaised with other local GP practices and are reassured that there is enough capacity across Brighton and Hove to ensure all Lewes Road Surgery patients can register with a new local GP practice, with those affected living across a wide area of the city.
“We are writing to all Lewes Road Surgery patients to explain how they can register with a new GP practice.”
The decline of the NHS continues apace, one fewer surgery in the city.
We should thank Dr Shah for their 47 years (!) of service to the NHS and the local community, but what an endightment of the system that someone feels that they need to carry on for so long.
For years we have simply not trained or employed enough GPs. We should have a health system based around early intervention and healthy living, instead it is now an emergency service of last resort. The decline has been rapid and entirely predicted as an outcome of voting for a conservative government.
Good luck to doctor Shah.my best wishes to Mr and Mrs shah ,hope they enjoy their retirement.
Yet another sureptitious reduction in health facilities, admiration for those who have kept the system running for all these years and deserve a comfortable retirement.
They’ll be lucky to find another GP practice in the area. Ardingly Court in Kemp Town closed its list just 2 weeks ago.
It’s getting desperate. How many surgeries have closed in Brighton and Hove over the last year?