Patients react with surprise and sadness to closure of Edinburgh GP surgery
Patients of an Edinburgh GP practice have reacted with surprise and sadness to the announcement that it will close at the end of next month.
Polwarth Medical Practice in Tollcross, which serves nearly 5,000 patients, has been directly managed by the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership (EHSCP) since its GP retired in 2016.
But NHS Lothian announced on Friday that after a review it had been decided to close the practice rather than tender for a GP to take it over.
Most patients will be automatically transferred to Gilmore Medical Practice, which is located in the same building, Tollcross Health Centre, or another practice nearby.
One patient posted on social media, asking: "Are GPs being transferred/ added to these other practices? It was already difficult enough to get an appointment."
And another said: "Been a Polwarth medical practice patient over 30 years, was there last Thursday for appointment nobody informed me shutting up shop only read it here now. Was always difficult to get appointment before, how are the other 2 practices going to cope with extra 5000 patients?"
Several people said they had not been notified of the closure and knew nothing about it until they read it in the Evening News.
One woman posted: "I’ve been a patient for over 35 years with this practice and myself and family haven’t been informed of the closure. Very disappointing."
Another said: "Very sad to see it. I’ve been with this surgery for over 20 years, they provided great service, I was always able to get on the day appointment. I hope all the lovely staff will find new employment."
The vast majority of Edinburgh's 69 GP practices operate as independent contractors and the policy is that any which are taken over by EHSCP should either have the contract retendered or be developed as a good practice model.
Explaining the decision to reallocate Polwarth patients rather than retender the contract, NHS Lothian said efficiencies could be made with fewer practices in the same building - there are currently three - by sharing some admin roles.
It added that larger practices could offer greater choice for patients in terms of GPs and services and were also more sustainable, having greater resources to support individual GPs and provide training and development opportunities for staff.
And it said: "All NHS Lothian-employed staff at Polwarth Medical Practice will be redeployed across Lothian and/or HSCPs in line with their skills, experience, and current terms and conditions."