Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Health to detail (i) any specific consideration that has been given to the safety concerns raised by GPs in relation to the dispersal of patients from Fairhill GP practice, Magherafelt; and (ii) any assessment his Department has made of its own exposure to liability in the event that a patient comes to harm due to the pressures placed on receiving practices during this process. [Priority Written]
Minister of Health: All avenues to secure an alternative contractor for Fairhill have now been explored and exhausted and the position is that the practice list of Fairhill Health Centre will be allocated across the neighbouring practices in order to ensure that patients continue to have access to a GP.
From a safe practice perspective, allocating the patient list for one single-handed practice across 11 practices significantly reduces any potential impact on the receiving practices.
The redistribution of the patient list has been managed to ensure that the highest level of increase in patient numbers will be circa 3.2%.
Furthermore, to reduce additional workload for these practices, during the first three months of the new arrangement SPPG will put in place a ‘freeze’ on other patients moving practices within the local area.
The challenges being faced by single-handed GP practices in securing locum cover when the single partner is unwell or on leave are of concern across the UK and the managed integration of this patient list into multi-partner practices will assist in addressing that concern.
Throughout this process my Department has considered the continuation of care of registered patients and have recommended the best approach to limit the impact on their ongoing needs for access to GP services.
ENDS
Your MLA 