Residents in a historic north-east fishing village fear they are going to be “abandoned” by health chiefs after their medical centre was closed.
People in Gardenstown now have to make a 20-mile round-trip to Banff for GP appointments and prescriptions following the departures of two doctors.
One took up a new post elsewhere and the other is signed-off after being injured in an accident.
NHS Grampian has stressed the closure of the Banff & Gamrie Medical Practice is temporary.
But locals fear it is the “beginning of the end” for healthcare in their community.
A letter sent by the health board to patients in the area says that the surgery doors will remain closed for up to six weeks and villagers will have to travel to a sister surgery in Banff.
Transport links between the coastal community and its nearest town are limited.
Last night, Ron Beaty, a member of King Edward and Gamrie community council, said there were an “awful lot” of worried residents in the village.
“The health board have said it’s a temporary measure,” he said.
“But the threat of closure due to lack of doctors will be there. That’s something that cannot be allowed to happen.”
His comments were echoed by 69-year-old Stephen Makin, a neighbour of the practice.
He said: “I stay across from the surgery – we’ve gone from a 20-yard journey to a 10-mile journey.
“I didn’t like the way they went about it – one day it was open, the next it was shut. Nobody knew anything about it.”
Mr Makin said he feared the closure was the “thin end of the wedge” and added he was worried that if the temporary alternative proved workable, the Gamrie surgery could be closed permanently.
The concerns emerged just days after NHS Grampian announced a £150million investment in its Aberdeen operation.
The redevelopment of the Foresterhill campus will include key worker housing to encourage young doctors and nurses to move to the city.
Now councillors have called for similar investment in Banff and Buchan.
Troup member Hamish Partridge said: “Key worker recruitment – whether it be teachers or doctors – is a real issue throughout Scotland and it’s something that we’re all keen to address.”
Councillor Partridge – who described the search for a replacement doctor as “a bit of a mad scramble” – said it was vital to protect the future of surgeries in small, communities.
He added: “We need to focus on key workers throughout the shire and especially in the north-east here where we struggle to attract teachers and doctors. We need to think outside the box a little.”
Last night a spokeswoman for NHS Grampian apologised for any anxiety or inconvenience caused by the sudden closure of the Gardenstown practice but said “robust healthcare” would be maintained in the area.
“This decision about the temporary closure has not been taken lightly and we acknowledge the concern this may cause for patients of the practice,” she said.
“The injury of one of the staff was unforeseen and for the safety of patients, we have made this temporary closure of the branch surgery in Gardenstown.”
It is understood that NHS Grampian is liaising with local community groups to lay on temporary transport.
The spokeswoman added that key worker housing provision was a challenge for public sector organisations across the north-east, but remained a priority for NHS Grampian.