A top Perthshire doctor is calling on NHS Tayside to stop the “hand-wringing” and guarantee it will set up its own GP surgery to replace the Carse Medical Practice.
Andrew Buist, former chairman of the British Medical Association’s Scottish GP committee, says it’s “a disgrace” that the last health centre between Perth and Dundee is threatened with closure.
And he says NHS Tayside has to shoulder the blame for the current crisis after neglecting to provide the GPs at Errol with a permanent building.
The Carse Medical Practice has been operating out of a “temporary” unit in a field near the village since 2020 after it was forced to leave its former premises.
The two GPs who run the practice are both retiring and have told NHS Tayside they intend to quit their contract.
They say they “tried every possible avenue” to recruit replacements.
But Dr Buist, who retired from his own practice in Blairgowrie after 26 years in 2024, says the lack of a permanent base will have hindered attempts to recruit staff.
“Ultimately the situation reflects the failure of the NHS Tayside Health Board at its highest level to secure primary medical services in this area,” he said.
“The NHS has known about an emerging service provision problem in the Carse for almost 10 years.
“The failure to secure long-term premises in the Carse of Gowrie is a disgrace.”
‘NHS Tayside can fix Carse Medical Practice crisis now’
Around 150 people attended a public meeting to discuss the crisis in Errol Village Hall last week.
It comes after NHS Tayside sent letters to 3,600 Carse patients two weeks ago, advising them it will close on September 12.
Health bosses assured residents at the meeting that they are now exploring a series of options simultaneously.
The worst case scenario could involve dispersing Carse patients to other practices in Perth and Dundee.
But NHS Tayside is also trying to recruit new GPs for the Errol surgery.
And failing that, it could take on the running of the service itself.
Dr Buist says NHS Tayside could end the uncertainty now by establishing a so-called 2C surgery, with all staff, including GPs employed by the health board.
There are four of these practices in Tayside, but none in Perth and Kinross.
It would likely cost more to run than the current contractor service.
But Dr Buist says NHS Tayside owes it to the people of the Carse of Gowrie to protect their access to a GP.
“The point is that it is within the gift of NHS Tayside to fix this now,” he said.
Underfunding hangs over other Tayside surgery closures
Dr Buist also pointed to a string of other recent practice closures, including Bridge of Earn, Friockheim, Methven and Invergowrie.
He says the common thread in all of them is the underfunding of general practice by the NHS and government.
NHS Tayside did not respond to Dr Buist’s comments, and referred The Courier to a statement it issued following the public meeting last Wednesday.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “GPs play a vital role in our health service, and that is why we increased investment in General Practice by £73.2 million in the last financial year and are determined to increase the number of GPs in Scotland by 800, by 2027, with an additional 307 GPs added since 2017.
“Our renewed plan for the NHS will ensure that a greater proportion of new funding goes to primary and community care which will result in GP services that are easier for people to access.”
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