Health chiefs say they are yet to decide the future of a village health centre building empty for almost 16 months.
The doors of Friockheim health centre were locked at the end of May last year.
It came after the centre’s last GP terminated their contract to run the centre after a failed two-year quest for replacement doctors.
Large patient list
Friockheim was a popular centre with a patient list of around 3,500.
A local petition failed to avert the closure.
And just a few months later the findings of a national survey were released, which saw Friockheim ranked the top GP surgery in Angus for patient satisfaction.
Patients transferred to other surgeries in Arbroath and Forfar in the wake of the closure.
It came as a major blow to the village, where a site for a new health centre was set aside as part of a new housing project.
And it reflected a wider trend which saw one in ten GP practices in Tayside and Fife closing in the decade from 2012 to 2022.
Last month, a leading Scottish GP warned of the dire consequences of a mass exodus of doctors from the profession.
Blairgowrie doctor Andrew Buist, BMA Scotland GP chair, said there was a risk parts of the country could become “seriously under-doctored” if moves to recruit and retain were not successful.
Since the Friockheim closure there have been questions raised about the future of the Westgate building.
But its fate is yet to be decided.
An NHS Tayside spokesperson said: “Friockheim Health Centre has been closed since May 2022.
“Patients formerly registered at the practice were transferred to a small number of GP practices, local to where patients live.
“Future use of the health centre building is still being considered by Angus Health and Social Care Partnership.”
‘Brilliant surgery’
An area MSP said locals would still be stunned by the turn of events.
North East Scottish Conservative Tess White said: “The closure of Friockheim’s GP surgery was a major blow for the village and surrounding rural communities.
“GPs are retiring and they’re just not being replaced.
“This is a situation I’m seeing at many rural surgeries across Scotland.
“But after a GP surgery closes, it’s very hard to get open again.
“So I’m asking NHS Tayside and Scottish Ministers to get a new arrangement in place – because eventually it will be forgotten about.
“That is obviously an unworkable conclusion and unsustainable for local healthcare.
“It’s putting extra work on doctors and staff elsewhere who are already at the limit, straining their own lists and forcing people to travel just for an appointment.
“Not too long ago, this was a village expecting a new-build surgery.
“People will be rubbing their eyes in disbelief at what’s happened to their brilliant practice.”
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