Clock ticking on future of Fintona Medical Centre

LOCAL politicians have called for urgent action to help save yet another GP surgery in the Omagh district.

The Department of Health has confirmed that Fintona Medical Centre had given notice that its contract would end on March 31 next year. The Department says that thousands of patients registered with the practice do not need to take any action and should continue to contact the surgery if they needed to.

However, the issue was described as an ‘alarming development’ whenraised at Fermanagh and Omagh District Council on Tuesday night.

“This serves to highlight the extent of the current crisis in Primary Care Services provided by GPs,” said Cllr Josephine Deehan.

“This needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency before we have a complete collapse of GP practices.”

Fintona is the latest practice to hand back its contract in the Omagh district following on from Trillick and Dromore.

A crisis response team from the Department for Health is also currently supporting Carrickmore Health Centre due to a shortage of GPs.

In relation to Fintona, the Department says that a number of options are available to ensure that patients registered there are not left without a GP service.

Their preferrred option is to secure a GP contractor – or a grouping of GPs to take over the practice. But an interim solution ythat would see the Western Trust taking over the running of the practice has not been ruled out either.

“We want to reassure patients that the existing Fintona Medical Centre will continue to retain the contract to deliver GP services. Patients at the practice do not need to take any action,” a spokesperson for the Department said.

“The Department acknowledges the ongoing and significant pressures on GP practices, stemming from the fact that demand for their services is outstripping capacity to provide it.”

Fintona man, John Murray, said patients registered with the practice had received letters on the matter last week.

“Hopefully they will be able to get new GPs recruited to operate the practice,” he said.

“There is still that fear that the surgery could close, or that the patients registered there might have to go to Omagh or elsewhere for their GP services. There’s six months to get this sorted which is enough time to put the new plans in place.”

Sinn Fein’s Stephen McCann told the council’s monthly meeting that the Department’s Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG) should be questioned on its plans for Fintona.

He further proposed writing to the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health, Peter May: ‘Outlining our grave concerns about the future of the provision of GP services in our district and to provide an update on the measures and initiatives being undertaken to attract GPs to this region.’

Cllr McCann’s proposal was unanimously supported in the chamber.

West Tyrone MP, Orfhlaith Begley, said a long-term solution is needed to strengthen GP and primary care services locally.

“The Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG) are in the process of advertising the contract for the provision of General Medical Services for all the patients of the practice,” she said.

“I have written to the Permanent Secretary of Health and the Chief Executive of the Western Trust to seek reassurance that they will intervene and offer support to ensure the sustainability of the practice.”