NHS Highland to take over running of Armadale Medical Practice following GPs' retirement
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A North Coast medical practice is to be taken over by NHS Highland following the retiral next month of its two GPs, the health authority has confirmed.
The two family doctors at Armadale Medical Practice, Dr Andreas Herfurt and Dr Ceri Le-Mar informed NHS Highland of their intention to hand back their General Medical Services contract last October and are officially set to depart on June 30th.
The health authority advertised the vacancies but it is understood that no suitable candidates applied.
There was uncertainty over what would happen to the practice with Farr North Community Development criticising NHS Highland over a lack of response to its written enquiries.
However, the health authority has this week made the situation clear, but hinted that future changes could still take place.
Jill Mitchell, NHS Highland’s head of primary care for North Highland, said: “From July 1, 2023, NHS Highland will take responsibility for running the practice and patient care. We are committed to ensuring continuity of care during this transitional period.”
It is understood the practice will be staffed by locum doctors with one already booked to cover at Armadale for the first fortnight in July.
In a letter dated May 22 and sent to Simon Lee, manager of the Farr North Community Development Trust, NHS Highland went into further details about the building the medical practice is housed in.
It said the current lease for the Armadale premises was held by Dr Herfurt and an agreement had been in place since 2006 committing NHS Highland to the lease until May 2025.
“NHS Highland plans to lease the GP premises until the current lease expires,” it was stated.
“NHS Highland are planning engagement with the Armadale practice and the community regarding the future model of delivery for the Armadale practice, as part of the North Coast redesign of health and social care services; and the new developments that are coming into implementation between now and 2026.”
Plans are well advanced for the construction of a new North Coast Health and Social Care Hub at Tongue which it is hoped will come on stream in 2026.
Dr Herfurt (59) is leaving the practice after 24 years.
He said: “I was always planning to retire at 55 but then Covid happened and I did not want to run away in the middle of that - it seemed wrong to me. My colleague does not want to run the practices on her own so she is retiring at the same time.”
Dr Herfurt, who has for years warned about a lack of family doctors, said he was not surprised that NHS Highland’s recruitment process had been unsuccessful.
“There are not any GPs,” he said. “If you look around the North Coast, pretty much what we have been warning about for the last 20 odd years has now come to fruition. I think the majority of practices on the north coast are currently staffed by locums. There is nothing we can do about it now.
“To be honest, I realised a while ago that it does not matter if I retire now, or in five, ten or 20 years time. The outcome would have always been the same. It would just have postponed the inevitable. And the system has changed so much that I decided it was time to go.”
Dr Herfurt revealed that NHS Highland had discussed closing down the practice, which has a patient list numbering around 900.
And he blamed the shortage of GPs on the way the NHS treated its staff.
“The way the NHS treats its people is just abysmal,” he said. “The NHS does not value its people and I have been preaching this for years. It is not about money as much as it is about valuing and supporting staff.”
