DOCTORS at a town centre surgery have announced they are quitting over increased workload and demands on the industry.

Dr Siu Fai Fan and Dr Angela Fan of Great Western Surgery have decided to retire at the end of the year because of the challenging future the industry is facing, among other issues.

The news comes just days after inspectors from the government health watchdog, CQC, upped the surgery’s rating from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good.’

“This has been an extremely difficult decision to make and we have thought long and hard about it,” the GP partners told their patients in a letter.

“Due to a number of reasons, including difficulties with recruitment, and increasing workload pressures, independent partnership has become unsustainable.

“We greatly value your support and understanding with this and it has been our absolute pleasure being your doctors over the years.”

From 2017, the Farriers Close surgery, on the outskirts of the town centre, will be under the care of NHS England, which is currently in the process of finding a short-term provider so the surgery can remain open.

Health bosses are hoping that as of April 2018, a permanent provider will be in place and patients will be kept informed.

The surgery has in recent times had difficulty hiring doctors and a shortage of nursing appointments which forced them to stop providing certain services.

Patients were also told they could no longer book on the day urgent appointments and instead would be called by a doctor who would assess if they should attend the GP.

A spokesman from NHS England said: “We are working with Swindon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to find a long-term provider to run the surgery from April 2018 to ensure patients can continue to access the surgery.”

In the meantime, staff are delighted with the results of the government health watchdog’s visit, which saw the surgery rated as ‘good’ in all areas, including how safe, caring and well-led the practice is.

Dr Fan said: “The team at Great Western Surgery are very pleased with the latest CQC re-rating of ‘good’ in all areas.

“We feel this reflects the hard work and dedication of each team member and we strive to continue to work together to maintain this level of care for all our patients.”

The surgery staff were praised for having ‘the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment’ and met a ‘complexity of patients’ needs’.