CAMPAIGNERS have warned every effort should be made to ensure a city has enough GPs available to cope with demand.

Ridgeway Surgery in Woodingdean, Brighton, closes its doors for the last time today, meaning about 2,000 patients have had to find a new practice.

It is the eighth surgery to have closed in Brighton and Hove in the last two years.

There is currently a national shortage of GPs amid rising concerns, with doctors facing soaring pressures and suffering low morale and stress,

Brighton and Hove Healthwatch said it had been closely monitoring developments since Ridgeway announced it was closing earlier this year.

Chief executive David Liley said it had been able to help some patients register with other practices.

However it felt the three week window to register, which ran from mid-September to early October, was probably not long enough.

Mr Liley said Healthwatch has been assured by the NHS that patients who did not register during that period did not have to worry.

He said: “If someone previously with Ridgeway needs to see a GP and contacts their nearest GP surgery, they will be advised about where they can be seen and about the process for registration.

“They might not have much choice about where they can register but in a city where many practices have had to accept patients from the eight practices that have closed in the last two years that is only to be expected.

“The continuing concern must be for GP sustainability in the city.”

A Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “Our ongoing priority is to ensure all Ridgeway patients have access to local GP services following closure and we have been working with the neighbouring practices to ensure sufficient support and capacity is in place.”

The CCG worked with neighbouring practices to ensure they had enough capacity to cope with demand.