OUT of hours GP services are being suspended at five sites across Greater Glasgow and Clyde amid a shortage of doctors.
The health board said it was temporarily pulling the service from Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Greenock Health Centre, Easterhouse Health Centre, Gartnavel Royal Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
It said it faced “significant challenges” in staffing the sites which had “led to short-notice centre suspensions, resulting in an inconsistent and unsustainable service”.
It blamed “local operational issues” as well as factors including pension changes, which have led some senior medics to shun overtime work that could result in substantial tax bills.
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In the meantime, four “core centres” at Stobhill, Victoria, Royal Alexandra and Vale of Leven Hospitals will continue to operate overnight.
The Stobhill, Victoria, Royal Alexandra sites will also be open at evenings and weekends.
The health board said the four sites were prioritised based on attendance numbers, access, and capacity in the buildings.
The health board added that its GP home visiting service is unaffected and would continue to operate as normal.
In January, Jeane Freeman told the Herald that improving NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s out of hours GP service was among her priorities, saying it “needs significant improvement”.
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The Scottish Government intervened in June last year after GP shortages led to all but one out-of-hours unit closing at a weekend.
Kerri Neylon, primary care lead GP at NHS GGC, said: “A number of contributory factors mean the current out-of-hours service has become unsustainable.
“Temporary consolidation of services is the only option which will enable us to continue providing this crucial service in the immediate future.
"This formalises the ad-hoc arrangement which has increasingly become the norm in recent months and provides patients and staff with certainly and reliability.
“We are absolutely committed to delivering a long-term sustainable, safe and reliable Out-of-Hours service.”
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