A Dundee MSP has called on the Scottish Parliament to condemn the closure of a city medical practice that has left hundreds of people without a doctor.
Labour’s Jenny Marra has lodged a motion to highlight the plight of 1700 people following the closure of the Ardler GP surgery, which shut on Monday.
NHS Tayside terminated the contract to provide GP services at the practice, with existing patients being asked to attend a temporary surgery in Wallacetown.
Ms Marra has called on Holyrood to “condemn the closure of the GP surgery in Ardler, Dundee”, adding that the parliament “understands that 1700 patients are being asked to attend a doctor 3.6 miles from their homes.”
Her motion, lodged on Monday, also asks the parliament to condemn the local NHS board for shutting down the surgery, “apparently without any consultation”, before asking the Scottish Government to reconsider the closure.
The motion has already received the backing of six members of the Scottish Parliament, although SNP MSP Joe Fitzpatrick has issued an amendment failing to condemn the closure, instead calling it “a significant blow to the local community.”
Mr FitzPatrick’s amendment also calls on members to recognise the decision making process undertaken by NHS Tayside in the lead up to the closure, asking MSPs to note that the order was “made as a last resort.”
Kevin Keenan, Labour representative for the Strathmartine ward, has said he is worried Ardler residents might skip treatment because they now have to travel more than three miles to see a GP.
He was speaking after Monday’s closure of the surgery run by Dr Charles Miller when NHS Tayside terminated his contract.