ONE GP in Lochgelly is trying to cover 3,600 patients after a failure to attract new doctors.

Patients at Lochgelly Medical Practice have been asked for their “patience and understanding” as they attempt to deal with their current staffing crisis.

A notice at the facility, which is based in Lochgelly Health Centre, explains the surgery has been struggling since one GP retired in March while another left in 2017.

“As to date, the practice has been unsuccessful in recruiting GPs to fill the posts,” stated the notice. “The practice has employed the services of locum GPs to cover some of the surgeries Dr Wilson and Dr Hendrickx did but unfortunately we have been unable to recruit locum GPs to cover all vacated sessions.

“Due to this, there will be days when Dr Cattanach will be working on her own to cover a practice of 3,600 patients.

“The practice would therefore ask for your patience during our time attempting to recruit GPs to cover the appointments Dr Wilson and Dr Hendrickx did. Due to this, there will be a reduction in appointments the practice may have to offer.”

The centre has warned that prescription requests may take longer than 48 hours and private letter requests would also take longer than they had done previously.

Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Alex Rowley slammed the situation as “unacceptable”.

“I am writing to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and NHS Fife CEO as this is unacceptable,” he said. “A town the size of Lochgelly cannot be left not having enough doctors to provide the medical care and support that it needs.

“NHS Fife and the Government have got to act to support this practice and its endeavours to recruit GPs. This is a failure on the part of the government to properly plan for the future and ensure there is enough GPs in the system and it is not acceptable.”

Claire Dobson, Fife Health & Social Care Partnership divisional general manager, said locum cover was providing support.

“Despite best efforts, one of the three GP practices within Lochgelly Health Centre continues to experience difficulties in recruiting to GP vacancies,” she said.

“Fife Health & Social Care Partnership is working closely alongside the practice to identify what further support can be provided from other staff disciplines, such as nursing and pharmacy, with a dedicated group meeting on a regular basis.

“The two other GP practices within the health centre continue to operate as normal, with a full complement of GPs.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said they aimed to increase the number of GPs by at least 800 over 10 years and have put in place a number of initiatives to achieve this ambition.

“NHS Fife’s workforce has increased by 5.5 per cent under this government and to help meet the demands the NHS faces, we are putting record investment into our health service and legislating to ensure we have the right staff with the right skills in the right place,” said the spokesperson.

“We have negotiated a new GP contract to stabilise income, reduce workload, and improve patient care. The new contract is backed by investment of £110 million this year and ensures GPs are able to spend more time with patients and less time on bureaucracy, and will help cut doctors’ workload.”