CAMPAIGNERS have warned GP services in Brighton and Hove are facing a crisis following the closure of seven practices in the city in two years.

Lewes Road Surgery in Brighton is shutting at the end of the month following the decision of Amrut Shah to step down.

The 2,300 patients on the surgery’s list have been told they now need to register with a new practice.

NHS England said surrounding surgeries had already indicated they would be able to take on Dr Shah’s patients between them.

Since 2015, about 25,000 patients have been forced to move to different practices in the city, putting existing services under even more pressure.

Pressure group Sussex Defend the NHS says years of government underfunding of the NHS has led to the current problem and fewer doctors were now willing to take on GP positions, leading to a national shortage.

Member Carl Walker said: “This latest closure, following the other GP closures across the city in recent months, puts further strain on a general practice network already on its knees.

“People across the city are finding it increasingly difficult to get an appointment with their GP.

“There is a national and local crisis in primary care.”

Brighton and Hove City Council’s health overview and scrutiny committee will be talking about the issue at its next meeting.

Chairwoman Dee Simpson said: “This is an ongoing concern for us.

“Some of the patients at Lewes Road had transferred from the Willows Surgery in Bevendean which closed last year and so now they are having to move on again.”

An NHS England spokeswoman said Lewes Road patients had been sent letters giving details of alternative available practices and how to register.

She said: “We know that general practice, like other parts of the NHS, is under real pressure across the country.

“We are working alongside NHS Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group to develop sustainable local GP services that will provide the best possible care to patients in the coming years.”

CONCERN AS SURGERIES FACE HIGH DEMAND

LEWES Road is the seventh practice in two years to close in Brighton and Hove.

In 2015 Eaton Place practice in Kemp Town shut after its two GPs decided to retire, leaving 5,600 patients in need of a new surgery.

Later that year the Care Quality Commission closed Goodwood Court in Hove after raising safety concerns following an inspection.

This meant 9,600 patients on its books had to be moved to another practice.

Last year the privately-run group The Practice said it was pulling out of its contract to run GP services leaving 9,700 patients from surgeries in Whitehawk Road, North Street, Willow House in Bevendean and Hangleton Manor needing new GPs.

There is a national shortage of GPs at the moment, with growing pressures and demands leading to fewer medics taking up training.

As existing GPs retire or withdraw for a contract, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find replacements, leading to more surgeries having to extend their patient lists.

This has a knock-on effect on waiting times for appointments and has already sparked concerns that patients will turn to already over-stretched A&E services in Brighton and Hove if they struggle to see their GP.

Brighton and Hove health overview and scrutiny committee has been monitoring developments, as has the city’s Healthwatch group.

A spokesman for Healthwatch said: “The closures of GP practices and practices being placed in special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have impacted on around 10 per cent of the population of Brighton and Hove in the last two years.

“Disruption to this extent will have caused inconvenience and difficulties for local people and we have heard from local people about difficulties and delays in securing GP appointments.

“One of our concerns is the general capacity of the NHS locally to absorb any more closures and disruption particularly with the colder winter weather, Royal Sussex County Hospital on ‘Black Alert’, and increasing demand on all parts of the health and care system.

“NHS England has indicated there is capacity in the system to enable people affected by this recent closure to register with a new GP. Fewer GP practices and limited treatment alternatives will reduce the chance of this being achieved.

“GP services should be reliable and convenient and allow families to have treatment close to home. Patients are also entitled to expect services that meet CQC objective standards.

“Future sustainability plans for the NHS rely on more diagnosis and treatment being provided by GPs but we have a system that struggles to meet current demand and seems ill equipped to meet increasing demand in the future.

“The most recent GP Practice closure involves a relatively small number of people but Healthwatch wonders how close we are to a tipping point where the system will not be able to cope.”

NHS England says smaller GP practices are particularly susceptible to these challenges, with some choosing to grow their patient lists or to work more closely with other GP practices in order to increase their resilience.