GP surgery to close due to rising costs and staffing

Farrier House in Worcester will be closing on 1 March

A GP surgery in Worcester has announced it will close because of recruitment issues and rising costs.

Farrier House Surgery, which has just over 5,000 registered patients, said it would close on 1 March as it was “unable to continue to operate”.

A letter published on the website said the decision was made after they failed to find someone to take over the running of the practice.

Patients were told to register with another surgery and that appointments before the closure would go ahead.

The letter said: “Due to challenges with recruitment and rising costs, we are unable to continue to operate and therefore we have taken the difficult decision to close the practice on Friday 1 March.

“We have worked closely with our NHS partners over many months to find someone to take over the running of this practice, but unfortunately have been unsuccessful.”

Tom Collins, Labour's parliamentary candidate for Worcester, said he had been contacted by patients who were "shocked, alarmed and frustrated" by news of the closure.

"Access to a GP is already patchy in Worcester and many people struggle to get an appointment when they need one," he said.

This closure will make that problem worse across the city. It’s hard to see how other surgeries are going to accommodate additional patients."

The surgery said patients would be sent a text message with a link to a nearby surgery.

Those not signed up for text messaging services were encouraged to register with another practice either online or in person.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We would like to reassure you that no one will be left without a GP practice as a result of these changes,” the letter added.

Patients have also been urged to ensure they have enough medication before moving to a new practice.

Farrier House said there might be delays with prescriptions during the move.