GPs in Richhill have joined the list of those sending patients back to hospital for postoperative care – but the Department of Health has warned GPs it is ‘closely monitoring adherence’ to their contracts.

The News Letter reported on Thursday that Banbridge Group Surgery and five or six surgeries in the Newry area had already made the same move, with the British Medical Association warning that many others were considering the move.

Now, it has emerged that Richhill Health Centre has also informed its patients that it has also adopted the policy.

The Department of Health has told the News Letter that it had no further funding to address the problems, however, it warned that it will "monitor" GP actions to ensure they are fulfilling their contractual obligations to patients.

placeholder image — GPs in Richhill have become the latest to announce they are halting postoperative care for patients, sending them back to hospitals due to what they describe as “unsustainable” pressures. (Generic image).

The tensions come after months of wrangling between GPs and the department over finances. In May, BMA negotiators rejected £9.5m of additional funding from Health Minister Mike Nesbitt with the BMA saying it was not "enough to stabilise or save general practice in NI”.

A month later, the BMA said that 98.7% of NI GPs had voted to withdraw some non-funded services.

A spokeswoman for one surgery in the Banbridge group told the News Letter this week that around 25% of its appointments are taken up with post-operative care. The practice has 178 appointments per week for 8,000 patients—but typically 40–50 of these are used for post-operative care.

In its statement this week, Richhill Health Centre said: "For some time now, we have received no funding for the wound dressings that we have been managing over the years, which involve lengthy appointments over a longer period of time.

"We have tried over the past number of years to improve efficiencies in an attempt to continue offering this service to our patients. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, it has become unsustainable for us to continue with the service."

The statement continued: "As a result, Richhill Health Centre, and a number of other practices within the Southern Trust Area, have made the difficult decision to stop providing appointments for complex dressings.

"We understand that this news will be concerning for many of our patients, but due to increasing demands on our nursing team and the significant financial pressure on General Practice overall, we can no longer continue to provide services that are not funded, without compromising our ability to deliver core General Practice services."

The Department of Health responded that it is aware of the collective action by GPs, which it described as "a deeply regrettable position." It said the financial pressures it faces are "well known" and that the £9.5m in additional funding offered to GP practices in 2025/26 represented "the best possible offer" it could make.

The department warned that any collective action GPs "must respect contractual obligations," adding that it is "closely monitoring adherence" to ensure GPs honour their contracts. It also said it is "keen to continue constructive engagement" in talks for 2026/27.

DUP Health Spokesperson Diane Dodds, said: “The Health Minister and GPs need to rebuild their relationship and find a solution to this. The patients are paramount and cannot be allowed to suffer, caught in the middle of an unedifying dispute. Even hearing of services no longer being offered will cause unnecessary anxiety among patients.”