Magherafelt: letters sent to patients ahead of Fairhill Health Centre GP practice closure

The Department of Health has confirmed that the GP practice will close on Thursday, October 31.

It said that ‘having pursued and assessed all feasible options at length’, it had been concluded that the assignment of patients is ‘the best way to ensure continuity of GP services for those affected patients’.

The Department said letters were issued to patients by post on Thursday (October 24), detailing which of the 11 neighbouring GP surgeries in the Magherafelt and Mid Ulster areas they will be allocated to with effect from November 1.

Alongside the letter to patients advising of their new GP practices, 47 patients who currently live outside the practice boundary will also receive correspondence asking them to register with another practice within the boundary where they currently live.

The Department said patients will be assigned across 11 practices. There are 13 practices in total where patients could have been assigned, however two of the four practices in Cookstown will not receive any patients. Assignments will be proportional to the receiving practice size and an additional payment is being provided to the receiving practices, in addition to what they will receive ordinarily under their contract, to facilitate new patient reviews.

It added that priorities in the process include allocating families to the same practice.

There are currently 2,394 patients registered at Fairhill Health Centre. They are asked to continue to access services there as normal until it closes on October 31.

The current Fairhill Health Centre GP contractor submitted notice of intention to terminate contract - due to retirement - on July 31, 2024. That triggered an automatic three-month period, where either the practice would close or a new GP contractor agreed to take it over.

The Department said significant efforts to find a new GP contractor were made but have proved unsuccessful. These included advertising the contract extensively, engaging with the local GP Federation, discussions with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust and the local medical committee.

“Departmental officials have engaged repeatedly in relation to a proposal to build a new health centre in the locality. However, this proposal would have involved public funds being used to either pay rent significantly above market valuation or provide a capital grant to enable a limited company to develop and own the new premises. Neither of these options would have been possible under the arrangements for taxpayer-funded support for GP premises development,” a statement from the Department said.