South Lakes MP Tim Farron has written to the Health Secretary Victoria Atkins, urging here to support rural doctors surgeries after a shocking new report revealed that some of our local GP practices are on the brink of closure.
A recent survey, conducted by the Consortium of Lancashire and Cumbria Local Medical Committees (LMC), found that 10 GP practices in Cumbria and Lancashire are at immediate risk of closing their doors, while a further 111 say they are struggling financially.
One GP even reported that they had to remortgage their home to help with cash flow issues.
According to the report, in Morecambe Bay the ICB clawed back funding of approximately £419K from practices last year. 22 of those 29 practices now consider themselves ‘at risk’.
Meanwhile, figures from the House of Commons Library show that funding for local GPs in Lancashire and South Cumbria in real terms has been cut by almost £15m in the past five years, while in Cumbria and the North East it’s been cut by nearly £27m.
Mr Farron said: “Over the past few years we’ve worked as a community to save GP practices across the Lakes.
“But clearly we have a Conservative Government that has its head in the sand when it comes to the financial peril our vital GP practices are in.
“The Conservatives need to get a grip and financially support our vital local GP surgeries before it’s too late.”
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