Edinburgh GP surgeries: Marchmont medical practice to close permanently as sole GP retires

Edinburgh practice which currently operates out of a converted flat owned by its only GP will close its doors

Marchmont medical practice is to close its doors permanently from the end of June after the only GP retires. The independent GP Practice based in the south of Edinburgh on the edge of the Meadows has approximately 1,700 patients currently registered there. It’s the last ‘single-handed’ medical practice team in Edinburgh but one of several practices in the area which operates out of a converted residential property.

Patients will get a letter in April and another in May informing them which practice they will be moved to. The health board said patients will be asked not to apply to other practices but to wait to be allocated. Around 50 patients who are no longer in Edinburgh will be asked to find another practice nearer their home. It comes after six practices in the South Edinburgh area alone have completely closed their lists to new registrations in the last six months. Two new practices in Gilmerton and Liberton High School have been hit by delays.

Edinburgh South Labour MSP Daniel Johnson has written to the health secretary calling for a meeting to discuss the city’s GP crisis. He said: "The latest news that Marchmont Medical Practice will close following the retirement of the sole GP will mean that a further 1,700 patients must be reabsorbed into a system without any spare capacity. I have met three other local practices who, like Marchmont Practice, operate in converted residential accommodation, which frankly are not fit for purpose.

The surgery will shut permanently in June 2023

“For years the local health board has warned that without extra funding the increasing population of the Lothians is going to topple primary health care. The closure of Marchmont Medical Practice is just the latest example of a Government unable to plan for the future. The previous Health Secretary was unwilling to listen to communities in South Edinburgh and the wider Lothians on this issue but sticking their heads in the sand won’t cut it anymore. Michael Matheson needs to take action to stave off a disaster in primary health care. We need serious investment in our primary healthcare infrastructure, and we need it now.

NHS Lothian has been contacted for comment.