New managers found for Priory and Springhill GP Surgery

Priory Surgery in Holywood had been at risk of closure

New management has been found to take over the running of a County Down GP surgery facing closure.

Priory and Springhill Surgery operates from two sites in Bangor and Holywood, providing GP services for more than 14,500 patients.

Its services were due to stop unless new doctors could be found for the struggling practice.

The Federation Support Unit GP Management Community Interest Company will take it over from next month.

The South Eastern Health Trust had temporarily been running the practice since February this year.

The Department of Health has said patients registered with the practice would receive letters informing them of the new management in the coming days.

It said that patients did not need to take any action in relation to the change and should continue to contact the practice as normal.

'Stabilised in the short term'

Dr Alan Stout of the British Medical Association in Northern Ireland, welcomed the development.

"It stabilises the practice in the short term, it maintains service for patients, it protects other neighbouring practices from being overwhelmed," he said.

"We also recognise the huge amount of work that has gone into this from all involved."

Dr Alan Stout says a lot of work has been done to keep the Priory and Springhill Surgery open

In County Fermanagh a councillor has said the future of two GP surgeries has been thrown into doubt after a contractor who agreed to take over them pulled out of the deal.

Brookeborough and Tempo Primary Care Services, which has about 8,000 patients, gave notice in February that its management was handing back their contract to the Department of Health.

Ulster Unionist councillor Victor Warrington said there was now uncertainty over the future of the practices.

Whenever GPs operating a medical practice hand their contract back it means they no longer intend to run it.

That may be due to issues such as retirement, staffing and recruitment problems or financial pressures facing the practice.

The Department of Health will then attempt to find a new GP or a group of GPs to take over the running of the surgery.

Northern Ireland has the second-highest number of GPs per 100,000 registered population in the UK - Scotland has the highest.

The number of GP practices in Northern Ireland has fallen by more than 9% in eight years, according to the Department of Health.