Patients' concerns over sudden surgery closure
BBCPatients say elderly people will "really struggle" after the sudden closure of a GP surgery.
Spilsby Surgery, which has 7,455 patients, was closed "with immediate effect" after the NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) announced the current GP partners would no longer be providing care.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it removed the surgery's partnership from its register on 15 September after partners left "without proper notification".
A spokesman for the practice claimed the CQC and ICB had "acted disproportionately" and that an application to vary the surgery's registration had been submitted when the GP partnership ended.
Lincolnshire and District Medical Services, which provides primary and secondary care, has provisionally taken over the care of patients, the ICB said.
On Monday, several patients arrived at the surgery for appointments and prescriptions, only to be met with a vacant building and a sign on the door.
Mark Dorrans, 57, said: "I wasn't expecting it to close but here we are, so what do we do now?
"The older people are going to really struggle because they haven't got mobile phones and can't download the NHS app."
Angela Maddison, 46, also voiced concerns as she watched someone walk away from the front door.
"It's the people that haven't got Facebook and mobile phones that are going to struggle," she said.
"People say it's in a mess but you don't think it's going to be shut."
Tony Mccullam, 87, had turned up for a review of his tablets, but said he was left feeling "a bit bewildered".
His wife, Monica, 83, said: "You had to wait all the time. There was no co-ordination between the staff."
Karen Cox, 40, said the closure had made her "panic a little bit" as she relied on it to get her son medication which helped him sleep at night.
The CQC said that in April this year, one partner of its register remained, which meant the original partnership "no longer existed as the legal entity that was registered with CQC."
"Despite CQC's attempts to engage with the remaining doctor to establish appropriate registration, they did not respond within the required timeframe," a spokesperson said.
"This action was administrative rather than enforcement-related, updating the register to reflect that no legal entity remained."
The surgery's spokesman said: "At the end of March this year the ICB was working with the surgery to bring in a new partner. But unfortunately, that didn't materialise."
He added that the ICB were aware of the situation, and said "the CQC and the ICB have acted disproportionately and they haven't been following a standard procedure".
A spokesperson for the ICB said: "We understand this may feel unsettling, but please be assured your care will continue, your records are secure, and you will be kept fully informed about next steps."
The ICB advised patients to call NHS 111 if they have an urgent health requirement, to call 999 in an emergency or visit local pharmacies for minor illnesses.
It added patients who already have appointments booked would be contacted with updated details and a rescheduled date.
Update 15 May 2026: A previous version of this article did not have comment from Dr Shoru who was the sole GP registered at the Spilsby Practice at the time of the closure. We have added a comment from the representative of Dr Shoru which makes clear the practice claimed the CQC and ICB had "acted disproportionately" and that an application to vary the surgery's registration had been submitted when the GP partnership ended. We have also added further comments to make clear that the ICB was working with the surgery to bring in a new partner but that did not materialise.
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