Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeen medical practice considering merger amid collapse fears

Great Western Medical Practice on Seafield Road, Aberdeen, has "proactively" begun speaking to other clinics about joining forces.
New patients were turned away from Great Western Medical Practice recently. Image: Kami Thomson / DC Thomson.

An Aberdeen doctors surgery has begun reaching out to others for a potential merger, amid concern it’s close to “going under”.

Practices across the country have been experiencing a GP recruitment crisis for years, with the pressures even more prominent amid the pandemic.

Recently, several north-east surgeries have had to shake up their structure, go private or shut altogether.

And now GPs at Great Western Medical Practice say they’re working hard to ensure the “future sustainability” of the centre.

What does this mean for patients?

As it stands, Great Western has around 10,000 patients on its books.

But its GPs say nothing immediate will change for them, with patients’ health and wellbeing still their top priority.

Great Western Medical Practice has around 10,000 patients on its books. Picture by Kami Thomson.
Great Western Medical Practice has around 10,000 patients on its books. Picture by Kami Thomson.

However, they’ve also been asked not to contact the practice for more information, as “staff will not be able to comment further”.

A statement from the Great Western GPs said: “As soon as we have any further information to share, we will inform our patients as a matter of priority.”

What has happened at other GP surgeries?

Similar scenes have played out at other north-east clinics in recent years.

At the end of 2021 it was announced Carden Medical Centre would be closing, with its 8,600 patients transferred elsewhere in the city.

This was prompted by ongoing struggles to recruit GPs, as bosses said it was unsafe for the practice to keep relying on locum doctors.

Close up of a GP wearing a stethoscope
Practices across the country, including Great Western, are experiencing difficulties when it comes to recruiting GPs. Picture by Kenny Elrick

And at the start of this month, OneMedical Group, River Dee Medical Group and Newburn took over the running of four practices in Aberdeen.

Around 90% of the country’s surgeries are operated by partnerships like this, and patients have been assured they’ll keep the same access to their doctors.

While the management structure has changed, it’s unlikely people will notice any differences when accessing services.

GP staff ‘demoralised and fearful’

In 2017 the Scottish Government vowed to create 800 new GP positions in the country.

There are currently a record number of doctors in these roles, with more per person than anywhere else in the UK.

But North East Scottish Conservative MSP Liam Kerr says the recruitment issues still remain – with changes at the likes of Great Western likely leaving GPs even more stressed than usual.

“More GPs trying to merge is only a short-term fix to a major problem which won’t go away,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to GPs who talk about practices where staff are demoralised and fearful because they can’t provide the level of care they want to.

“This must weigh heavily on them and it isn’t their fault.”