Closing GP practice one of 12 at risk in one area, LMC warns

Another GP practice in Nottingham has handed back its contract due to financial struggles, and 12 other surgeries could follow within the next three years, the local LMC has warned.

GP partners at The Forest Practice in Hyson Green have taken the decision to serve notice on their contract, and the practice will close at the end of October with its patient list dispersed to nearby practices.

Nottinghamshire LMC chief executive Michael Wright told Pulse the decision was made as the practice was ‘financially unable to run’.

A survey run by the LMC also found that 12 practices in Nottinghamshire are actively considering handing back their contract in the next three years – four surgeries per year, with another five expected to serve notice in three to five years.

Mr Wright said: ‘Unfortunately this is a growing problem as finances bite. It is likely that the Forest Practice patients will need to move to another practice at the end of October. The practice has been trying to make it work financially for a few years now, but enough is enough.

‘There are two other surgeries in the same building and others nearby with around 4,000 patients to move so the obvious concern is neighbouring practices becoming destabilised.’

It comes after partners at Nottingham’s Windmill Practice were also forced to hand back their contract earlier this year, as it came to light that an ICB administrative error would mean the city’s practices facing a clawback of up to £300,000.

However, Pulse understands that the decision to close the Forest Practice is not related to the clawback.  

Financial struggles for practices in Nottinghamshire is also affecting staffing, with the LMC’s survey finding that 57 practices (79%) have ‘reduced or stopped entirely’ their use of locum GPs due to ‘insufficient funding’.

According to the survey results, seen by Pulse, many practices ‘have shared their frustrations’ about the ‘inability’ to employ additional GPs due to ‘financial constraints’, and their ‘collective anger’ around the ‘infantilising restrictions’ applied to the use of Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) funds.

Mr Wright said: ‘We are seeing funding put into new roles purported to support GPs and this along with sub-inflationary contract increases has led to GPs struggling to get work and GP registrars worrying about their prospects of gaining employment in general practice upon completion of their training.’

The LMC survey found Nottinghamshire practice sustainability was most threatened by a lack of national contract funding, the rising costs of staff and workload shift from other providers.

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB told Pulse that practices taking on additional patients following the closure of the Forest Practice ‘will have their funding increased’.

A spokesperson said: ‘There is capacity for more patients at other nearby practices, so patients will be allocated to the nearest available practice to their home address.

‘Funding for GP practices is calculated using several different factors, including the number of registered patients. Practices taking on patients from The Forest Practice will therefore have their funding increased from the date the patients are registered with them.’

Earlier this year, the ICB announced that following the contract hand-back, the Windmill Practice GP contract will switch from GMS to APMS in order to improve procurement chances.