Department confirms new GP contract advertised in relation to Larne Medical Practice

In a statement on social media, Mr Lyons said following the news the GP partners at Larne Medical Practice have handed back their contract to provide services from April 30, 2024, he wrote to the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health.

He added: “I asked for the Department to assure me that the process to appoint a new GP contract would be swift to reassure the thousands who rely on this service. The Department has confirmed that the contract was advertised on 20 November and interviews will commence once applications have been received. I am disappointed that the Department have failed to confirm that they will take over this service on a temporary basis if a new GP cannot be appointed.”

In his reply to the MLA, Peter May, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health, said that the Strategic Performance and Planning Group within the Department of Health has a number of steps to follow in the process to secure a new contractor further to a contractor’s notice to resign a contract.

“This process involves advertising the contract, engaging with interested parties and exhausting all options available. In the case of Larne Medical Practice, as a multi-partner GP practice, the period of notice is six months. Termination date for the current contract holders is 30 April 2024.

“We would assure all patients that the practice will continue to provide general medical services until this date. Patients should continue to contact the practice as they would normally do. To date, all patients have been notified by letter and the contract was advertised on 20 November 2023. Interviews will then take place with any applicants and at this point, the next steps will be considered. We would hope to reach an agreeable outcome, one that will meet the best interests of the registered patients.”

Mr Lyons said that he will “continue to monitor this situation to ensure Larne maintains this vital practice”.

Careful Consideration

In October, the GP partners of Larne Medical Practice confirmed they have handed back their contract to deliver GP services to the Department of Health from April 30 2024. In a statement on their practice website, they said: “This is a decision that has been taken with careful consideration and much regret. We, the partners and our staff, have been planning and working towards the practice merger since last year.

“Given that one of the objectives of the merger was to stabilise medical services in Larne Health Centre, we are devastated that due to a lack of adequate medical cover, we cannot provide a safe sustainable service. We will continue to seek extra medical cover however, locum/employed GPs only perform a fraction of the work undertaken by a GP partner. This leaves the remaining GP partners with a further increase in workload that is unsustainable and ultimately unsafe for patients.

“The Department of Health will now begin the process of advertising for and recruiting a new GP contractor. Whilst the practice cannot be directly involved in this process, we will endeavour to work with any new contract holder to ensure medical services continue for our staff and patients.

“We want to reassure our patients that we will continue to deliver GP services as normal until the contract is handed back. Patients do not need to do anything and should continue to contact the practice as normal. The Department of Health will shortly write out to all patients.”

In a letter, patients have been advised the SPPG is currently seeking a replacement doctor/practice to care for the patients of Larne Medical Practice and is planning to have this in place by 30 April 2024. The Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG) plans and oversees the delivery of health and social care services for the population of Northern Ireland.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: “The Department of Health works extensively to ensure continuation of GP services for local communities across Northern Ireland. In previous similar situations, solutions have been found and contract holders have been identified and appointed. Sometimes these contractors are other GPs, GP practices, a local health and social care trust or a GP Federation.”

In September, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council received a planning application for extensions at Moyle Medical Centre, Old Glenarm Road, Larne, which accommodates Corran, Victoria and Inver Surgeries. The application was submitted by the GP partners.

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter