Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Health to detail (i) the measures being taken to ensure the safety and care of patients from Fairhill Health Centre, Magherafelt, following its closure on 1 November 2024; and (ii) whether he will ensure that any solution implemented does not affect the remaining GP practices or compromise the overall stability of primary care services in the region. [Priority Written]
Minister of Health: Following an extensive process to identify a solution to allow Fairhill Health Centre to remain open, no viable solution has been reached. The only option now is to disperse the patient list across 13 other GP practices in the Mid-Ulster area. The patients will be allocated to one of the 13 practices ensuring the continuation of care for each patient on the list and health care records will be transferred to the receiving practice.
Given the patient list size and the fact that it will be dispersed over 13 practices the number of patients to be received by each practice will not be excessive.
ENDS
Your MLA 