GP practice at Fairhill Health Centre in Magherafelt to close at the end of the month

In a statement, the Department outlined that it has "worked extensively" to identify a new GP contractor to take over the practice after the current one submitted notice of their intention to terminate the GMS contract on July 31.

The Department says that despite "the best efforts of all parties involved", a new GP contractor has not been secured and it is anticipated that Fairhill Health Centre will close on October 31.

As a result of the impending closure, the statement says that allocation to neighbouring practices is the only feasible option to ensure continuity of GP services for patients.

There are currently 2,334 patients registered at Fairhill Health Centre. Patients will be allocated to one of 13 nearby GP surgeries in the Magherafelt and Mid-Ulster areas to ensure that patients continue to have access to a GP, which has been labelled as “a priority” by the Department.

Letters will be issued in the coming days informing patients of the new arrangements from 1 November.

The statement continues by saying that the Department acknowledges that this is not the preferred outcome for many patients and they would like to reassure them that all options were considered in trying to sustain a GP surgery in Magherafelt town centre.

It adds that throughout this process they have considered the continuation of care of the registered patients and have recommended the best approach to limit the impact on their ongoing needs for access to GP services.