Chirnside: GP branch surgery closure a ‘disaster for village’

Patients at Chirnside Medical Practice have been informed by letter that the doors are to close in March next year after attempts to recruit a salaried GP failed.

The branch is connected to the larger Merse Medical Practice seven miles away in Duns.

A spokesperson for NHS Borders said that “after much consideration” it had been agreed with the GP partners at Merse Medical Practice in Duns that “in order to sustain the Merse as a viable practice, there is no longer any alternative other than to close Chirnside branch surgery at the end of March next year".

But the decision has alarmed retired solicitor Sheila Stoddart, a patient at the Chirnside surgery all her life.

The village has a large elderly population and there are concerns over how they will now access the surgery in Duns.

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Ms Stoddart said: “I think it is a disaster for Chirnside because it has a population of two thousand and there are 50 new houses to be built in the village and the Chirnside surgery doesn’t just cover Chirnside, there are patients in Ayton and Foulden and Paxton as well. How on earth are they going to get to Duns?

“They tell you transport will be made available. How is that possible? You can’t phone the surgery until eight in the morning, and you don’t always get an appointment to see a doctor or someone will call you back with an appointment. How are they going to co-ordinate this?”

Ms Stoddart accepts that the practice has had problems attracting a GP to the area, but also expressed concerns over the more widespread impact the closure will have.

She added: “This doesn’t just impact on the surgery but on the pharmacy in Chirnside too. That will be at risk because people are not going to go to Duns and come back to Chirnside for their prescriptions, so Chirnside could be deprived of another shop that sells toiletries and that sort of thing, and we’ve just lost the butcher’s shop in Chirnside.”

The NHS spokesperson added: “The closure is because of ongoing significant challenges in the recruitment and retention of staff within the practice which make it very difficult to provide cover across two surgeries.

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“A letter has been sent to all patients registered with the practice advising them of this situation. A public meeting and a drop-in session has been arranged to give people the opportunity to ask questions and to advise how we plan to proceed with the branch surgery closure. This will include how we might find solutions to accessibility and transport issues.”

The spokesperson emphasised that patients will not be required to find a new GP and that all will be able to access services provided from the Duns surgery building.

East Berwickshire independent councillor James Anderson pledged to work to protect those most impacted by the decision.

He said: “The closure is nothing to do with cutbacks or money, it’s not being able to get doctors to the area and it’s linked with the national issue of getting doctors.

“The officers and NHS executives who have been dealing with this for a couple of years have been desperately trying not to have this as the end conclusion. They have gone above and beyond to try and stop this happening and it’s just not been possible.

Councillor James Anderson outside the surgery (Image: Paul Kelly)

“There now has to be a real effort to ensure that the new Pingo bus service which operates, which has been really successful, that really needs to be expanded to make sure that people who need it, particularly the elderly who no longer drive, get the support they need to get to Duns.”

The public meeting will be held on Thursday, November 10, from 2pm at Chirnside Community Centre. All are welcome.