UUP welcomes reprieve for Ballymena GP practise with 4000 patients - Kells and Connor Medical Centre

Last week it was reported that Kells and Connor Medical Centre was to close within weeks following unsuccessful attempts to find a new contractor. The 4,000 patients were due to be allocated to other GP surgeries in surrounding areas.

The practice operators gave notice that they were resigning their contract to provide GP services from 30 April, the BBC reported.

However the Department of Health confirmed yesterday, Thursday, that contractor Dalriada Urgent Care, which also provides GP Out of Hours services for the Northern Trust area, is to take over the practice.

"The Dalriada Urgent Care proposal was made in the last few days and will provide stability for both the patients and staff of the practice," the Department of Health said.

"This means the practice will not now close and its patients will not have to be allocated to other GP practices in the surrounding areas. Patients of the practice can disregard correspondence issued in the past week about the planned closure.

"The Department very much regrets the uncertainty experienced in the local community."

A letter advising patients on the new GP contractor will be issued and patients should continue to contact their GP practice as usual, it added.

The UUP's Braid election candidate, Keith Turner said: “This will be a great relief for the patients and staff of the Kells and Connor medical practice. There had been huge concern over recent days that the practice’s 4,000 patients were going to be dispersed out across a range of other neighbouring GP practices, many of which are already operating at above maximum capacity levels.

UUP MLA Robin Swann MLA said: “This has been a deeply unsettling time for both the patients and the staff of the medical practice. There were real and genuine concerns that had it been allowed to close, it could create a domino effect for primary care pressures across the wider area.

“Thankfully, this has been the outcome everyone was working towards, and it will now be on all of us to support the practice and the staff.”