PATIENTS will fight “tooth and nail” to ensure GP surgeries remain open after health chiefs labelled some practices as “not fit for purpose”.

West Dorset residents have raised concerns over future mergers of GP practices after the Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) published its draft blueprint for primary care.

As reported in last week’s Bridport News, the CCG believes there is potential for the current eight GP surgeries west of Dorchester to be cut to between three and five facilities.

Last week, officials from the CCG discussed the possible changes at a packed meeting in Beaminster after being invited to speak by the Tollerford Practice patient participation group. The Tollerford Practice is made up of both patients at the Tunnel Road Surgery in Beaminster and Pound Piece Surgery in Maiden Newton.

Health bosses said that there are no proposals in place and it is up to individual GPs to determine whether they merge.

Sue Sutton, interim head of primary care, said: “We are not saying one of these Tollerford practices has to close.

“General practitioners are independent contractors. We cannot force any change. We cannot make any practices merge.”

She added: “We do ask the question, is it affordable for the public purse?

“We know at the moment that much of the estate is not fit for purpose and that would require addressing. We need to make sure our buildings are fit for purpose.”

CCG leaders heard from patient Eileen Laidler, who spoke about the importance of the Tollerford Practice to the local communities of Beaminster and Maiden Newton.

She said: “There is very little public transport available for us.

“I do believe there will be closures. A merger from eight down to five or three, there has to be a closure. I will absolutely fight for it, tooth and nail. I hope we never lose it.”

Cllr Rebecca Knox said that more information would help patients look at the “bigger picture” and could help strengthen social care services.

She said: “We have a fantastic community transport team in Beaminster that is doing thousands of trips.

“I feel there is an opportunity to embed more of the community primary care services locally, rather than look at where it might just be in one place.

“There is fear because there is not enough information to see what that bigger service might look like, if we understand what residents need, more can be focused on these GP surgeries.”

The CCG also raised concerns about the impact surgeries closing at short notice can have on a local community. Dr Blair Millar (corr), the CCG’s GP chairman for west Dorset, said there is a problem with recruiting enough doctors in Dorset.

He said: “One of the reasons we are developing this strategy is that practices around the country are closing.

“If they are going to survive the next 25 years, there needs to be a business model. General practice is not viewed as a popular career for doctors coming out of medical school. The flow of new doctors into the profession is not guaranteed.”