A DOCTOR'S surgery that has lost a popular GP will have to reduce the number of patients it sees and could be forced to close due to funding cuts from central Government.
Whitley House, in Writtle Road, Chelmsford, is one of the 40 per cent of GP surgeries across the county that face a financial black hole after a change to the way surgeries are financed was announced last year.
The surgery, which has more than 12,000 patients on its books, faces losing a total of £600,000 over the next seven years.
The deficit means the surgery will lose 133 appointments and 84 nursing appointments every week, resulting in longer waiting times and the potential loss of further services.
"If we continue to operate as we are we face threat of closure in a few years, which would affect a lot of people," said practice manager Amy Brass.
"We have always endeavoured to put patients in the centre of everything we do – however, the loss of so much money is forcing us to take some very difficult decisions.
"Whitley House Surgery is already feeling the effect of the cuts. We could be forced to cut a lot more services."
The funding cuts began when the Government imposed a contract change on GP practices from April which removes a grant given to surgeries over the next seven years.
This money, known as the Minimum Practice Income Guarantee (MPIG), was introduced after flaws were discovered in formulas devised to assess each GP practice's funding.
"We're not the only surgery facing financial problems, but we're one of the worst affected in Essex," said Ms Brass, 34. "MPIG is just the tip of the iceberg, it is just one of a number of funding cuts facing all GP surgeries.
"We shouldn't have to let a doctor we love go at a time when it's so hard to get young doctors into general practice."
Melbourne House Surgery in Chelmsford and another that does not want to be named also face similar budget cuts, as does Rowhedge and University of Essex Medical Practice in Colchester, which is one of the 98 worst hit in the country.
Dr Elizabeth Towers, 59, a senior partner at Whitley House for over 30 years, said: "The standard of primary care in Mid-Essex is excellent and GPs are working hard to keep patients out of hospital.
"We've got an excellent hospital whose A&E department is already overstretched. It won't take many surgeries having to make the same cuts as us for primary care to implode with huge consequences for patients."
Whitley House has been backing the Royal College of General Practitioners' Put Patients First campaign that aims to increase the eight per cent of the current NHS budget that goes to GP surgeries to 11 per cent by 2017.
The surgery is also in talks with NHS England and the Care Quality Commission to discuss the way forward, as well as beginning its own drive to save the surgery.
Visit www.whitleyhouse.co.uk to sign the petition
