FRESHBROOK Surgery stay closed two days a week until a new partner is found for the practice as the team struggles to retain their existing practioners, a patients’ meeting was told.

In July the surgery, which has for two years been a subsidiary of Ridge Green Medical Practice, applied for a reduction in its opening hours due to a lack of GPs and to protect those still serving from modern pressures.

The closure, initially expected for four months, will now be sought until a new senior partner can be found, after an agreement was made at a public meeting on Tuesday night.

Dr Amit Dwivedi, senior partner at the surgery, told the meeting, attended by more than 50 patients, there are no intentions to extend the closure above two days a week, and as soon as an extra body is found the surgery will return to full capacity.

“Across the country doctors feel unsupervised and overwhelmed,” he said. “Swindon is no exception to that process. We have 3,400 patients registered with us at Freshbrook, and 900 of those do not live at all near Freshbrook, in fact closer to Ridge Green.

“In the practice we have four practice nurses and five doctors, with a couple of part-time locum doctors. That means we are short by about one or two doctors, and that has been the case for the last few years.

“Our nurses have found complexity of care has changed so much, doctors need much more support. We saw if we amalgamated Ridge Green and Freshbrook we could continue to provide high quality care across both our sites.”

Bosses have failed to find anyone to fill the vacant post at Freshbrook.

“We have had five doctors apply and we have appointed two,” added Dr Dwivedi. “One could only work at Ridge Green because they have to work at a training practice, and another was due to start but could not due to illness. “One more declined and another two were from abroad so would take some time. While we fill that gap there has been a lot more support for doctors on site and increased the nurse triage line from four mornings to five days a week twice a day. If anyone cannot get to Ridge Green for whatever reason we will come out to their homes. We have not had to turn anyone down for that request yet.”

Patients at the meeting said a lack of communication and upheaval was making them reticent to book appointments or simply unable to see their usual doctor, and it was agreed more needs to be done to cut out patients who fail to turn up to appointments, losing a precious slot. The concept of fining those was floated.

“The upheaval is happening across a number of teams, and that is not specific to Freshbrook,” added Dr Dwivadi.

The closure will now be reviewed with the Primary Care Trust and is likely to remain indefinite until another senior partner can be found.