A senior doctor has called for action to stabilise general practice or more surgeries will be forced to hand back their contracts, leaving many other communities at risk of losing this vital service.
The British Medical Association in Northern Ireland has warned that up to 50 GP surgeries here are at risk of closure.
To date, 16 surgeries have handed their contracts back to the Department of Health (DoH) in the past year, while it's understood that a further 30 practices are "in crisis", according to the BMA's NI chair, Dr Tom Black.
Read more: Leading GP issues stark warning as another medical practice at risk of closure
Dr. Ursula Mason, chair for the Royal College of GPs in Northern Ireland told Belfast Live: “Our BMA colleagues have clearly issued a stark warning about the deeply precarious situation we find ourselves in and this very much reflects what we are hearing from our members on the ground too.
“Practices are really struggling; demand continues to grow far beyond manageable levels and rising costs mean that it is very difficult to make ends meet.
“The situation could not be more serious and if we do not see action to stabilise general practice, more practices will be forced to hand back their contracts, leaving more communities at risk of losing this vital service.”
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris set the local budget last month due to the lack of a powersharing Executive at Stormont, broadly in line with last year's budget.
But with inflation soaring in the last 12 months and Stormont facing a range of additional pressures, including a series of public sector pay demands, Northern Ireland faces significant real-term cuts to public services.
The UK Government is facing calls to divert extra money to Stormont as part of any political deal that secures a return to devolved government.
Northern Ireland has the highest hospital waiting lists in the UK while health workers have been told they will not get a pay increase this year unless further funding is secured.
The warning comes as it was confirmed that the Western Trust will temporarily take over the running of Racecourse Medical Practice in Derry from June 1st.
Racecourse Medical in the Shantallow area of the city, which has almost 5,000 patients on its books, handed back its contract last December but a new GP, who had been lined up to take over the contract, will not now be taking on the practice as planned.
According to the DoH, the Western Trust is "stepping in to provide an interim solution following the unexpected withdrawal of the GP contractor who was awarded the contract earlier this month".
Elsewhere in the city, Bridge Street Family GP practice, also handed back its contract in February with services due to end there on 31 July. A recruitment process for a new contractor is underway.
Last month, Kilkeel Medical Practice became the latest GP service in Northern Ireland to announce it will be handing back its contract to the Department of Health later this year.
GPs in the Co Down practice said they had been unable to recruit new doctors to fill several vacancies.
Kells and Connor Medical Practice in Ballymena also recently gave notice of its imminent closure but was saved after Dalriada Urgent Care, which also provides GP Out of Hours services for the Northern Trust area, agreed to take over the role.
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