Perth and Kinross GPs are considering cancelling their summer holidays because they cannot get locum doctors to cover for them.
A health chief made the revelation as Perth and Kinross Integration Joint Board (IJB) met on Tuesday, May 30 to agree the closure of Invergowrie Medical Practice to patients.
When the IJB’s vice-chair councillor Colin Stewart suggested appointing a locum GP as an option for Invergowrie, he was told finding a locum GP was “nigh on impossible”.
Interim associate medical director for primary care in Tayside Dr David Shaw told the board: “When I first started out it was not any bother to get a locum GP.”
But he said the situation had changed since then and added: “It’s very difficult to get GP locum cover - it’s nigh on impossible.”
Service manager Deborah McGill confirmed it was “extremely difficult”. And Perth and Kinross associate medical director Hamish Dougall revealed the situation was so bad there were Perth and Kinross GPs currently contemplating having to cancel their summer holidays.
While the issue was reported to be widespread across Tayside Dr Dougall shared how much the shortage was affecting practices within Perth and Kinross.
The area’s associate medical director told the board: “Perth and Kinross has got a real issue getting locums right across many practices. We’ve got two practices in Perth City - large well-organised practices - with temporary list closures to new patients because they just do not have the medical workforce or the locum availability to do it.
“And there’s another practice where the doctors are talking about cancelling their summer holidays because there just isn’t the locums available so it is a real problem day to day for many practices to get that cover which was readily available a number of years ago.”
NHS Tayside Board yesterday (Thursday) supported the proposal to close and disperse the majority of Invergowrie Medical Practice patients to Ancrum Medical Centre and the remainder to a small set of practices local to where they live.
The decision was described by members as the “least worst option”.
It will close on Friday, June 16 and for its 1776 patients to be dispersed to their new practices from Monday, June 19.
Carse of Gowrie Labour councillor Alasdair Bailey presented a petition with 566 signatures opposing the closure.
He told NHS Tayside’s board some patients faced having to take “three or four hours out of their day to get to and from the doctor” depending on bus times and feared it might put some off going.
Perth and Kinross IJB chairman Bob Benson told fellow members of the NHS Tayside Board: “The transport options for five per cent who are not privileged to have car access to get to Dundee is a big issue.”
Ancrum Medical Centre is on Dundee’s Ancrum Road 2.6 miles away from Invergowrie. Dr Ronnie Ip - who also holds a contract to provide General Medical Services to patients at Ancrum Medical Centre - was running both practices singlehandedly following retirements. He initially approached NHS Tayside with his resignation from Invergowrie in December due to it not being safe or sustainable for him to continue as the sole remaining partner responsible for about 6000 patients between two different surgeries.
Dr Shaw and Gail Smith - Angus Health and Social Care Partnerhip (HSCP) chief officer - were tasked with exploring the future options for Invergowrie patients.
Dr Shaw described the proposed closure as a “tragedy”.
Earlier in the week addressing Perth and Kinross IJB, he said: “Essentially our main aim was to try to maintain something local for the community. It’s a tragedy when a village loses its practice.
“We’ve experienced that in Friockheim, we’ve experienced that in Bridge of Earn. It’s very difficult. It’s not something which we go into in a cavalier fashion.”
Dr Shaw said: “Part of the issue was the closure of Ryehill Surgery in Dundee last year - where a number of Carse of Gowrie patients were registered.”
Perth and Kinross IJB members were told Dundee’s Westgate Medical Practice - the closest to Invergowrie - took in 2000 patients after Ryehill closed and was now full. The board was also told the Muirhead practice was modified to increase clinical space and cares for around 2000 patients from the Carse area.
However Invergowrie residents have been given some hope as the premises will be kept on despite there currently not being enough clincians to continue running a branch service for patients with transport issues even just two days a week.
Dr Shaw explained it went beyond general practice with a multidisciplinary team and added: “I think it’s extremely important to see how best we can retain services of any kind within the village. I do feel that local communities should be served by local practitioners wherever possible and that remains an ideal that we’re committed to.”
Pat Lawrence, who turns 79 this month and has lived in the village all her life, called the closure a “huge blow” for residents.
She explained: “Along with my husband Brian I have been a patient here from way back when Dr Wallace was here and then stayed after Ancrum Road doctors took over the practice and Dr Wallace and partners moved back to Muirhead.
“We stayed local as we thought if everybody moved with David Wallace we might lose the surgery which of course is what’s about to happen.
“We applied to return to Muirhead a year or so ago which turned out to be lucky for us as now we’d struggle to find somewhere as an alternative.
“It is a huge blow to the villagers who have stayed with the local practice.
“Ancrum Road is not on a bus route and, as folk get older and have to give up driving, how are they supposed to get there?”
