Eastwood: Health chief must intervene over Bridge Street practice closure

Following the announcement that the Bridge Street Family Practice is handing back its contract to the Western Health and Social Care Trust, SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood MP has called on the Western Trust to intervene, hold a public meeting and for the Department of Health to stem the flow of GPs leaving the profession.

Said the Foyle MP: “The news that Bridge Street Family Practice intends to hand back their contract to the Trust will shock many in the local area and leave patients in a precarious position.

“People have built relationships with the staff who provide an excellent standard of care, and people in this community would be devastated to see it close.

“We need urgent action from the Department of Health and the Western Trust to find new management so that it can continue to provide services to people in this area.

“GP surgeries across our city are already stretched, and the situation will only deteriorate further if they are forced to take on more patients due to closures.

“I have called on the Western Trust to convene an urgent public meeting with surgery staff, patients and local representatives to address this issue plaguing our health service and forcing healthcare staff, who are already stretched physically and financially, into taking challenging decisions.

“We need a functioning Stormont and a health minister in place to take the lead and urgent action necessary.

“I have written to the Department of Health to ask that they maximise their efforts to retain GPs and drive a campaign to solve recruitment issues within the Western Trust.”

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