Tens of thousands of patients could be forced to register with another GP, as several practices prepare to close their doors early in 2016.
Pulse has learnt that six practices in England and Wales are closing due to GPs retiring early or becoming ill, leaving over 25,000 patients facing the prospect of moving practices.
GP leaders say the figures are a ‘terrible concern’ for patient access to primary healthcare and are the result of years of underfunding. This latest wave of closures comes months after Pulse revealed last year that 160,000 patients were displaced across the country between 2013 and 2015.
Pulse launched a ‘Stop Practice Closures’ campaign in 2014 to highlight the numbers of practices at risk of going under, but only recently have managers recognised there is a problem.
Full story in Pulse 6 January 2016