MP Ian Liddell-Grainger is demanding ‘immediate’ answers from NHS officials over the future of Minehead’s medical centre.
Patients were informed via a notice on the door that the centre - the only one in a town of 12,000 people - is closing as of mid-day today.
The move is apparently linked to the fact that the centre has failed to comply with an official improvement noticed served on it some weeks ago.
Patients who were expecting to be seen by centre staff have been advised to dial 111 or seek help at Minehead hospital’s minor injuries unit.
But Mr Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, said the NHS needed to act immediately to appoint temporary medical staff to run the centre.
“It is quite intolerable for a town of this size to be left with no GP,” he said.
“It would be a serious enough situation for any community but in this area we have one of the highest age profiles of any district in the country.
“I know the centre has been operating under considerable pressure in the past and that this is evidently a response to an ongoing and uncorrected problem.
“But the fact is that 12,000 people plus several thousand visitors every week-end need access to medical care if it is required. I am contacting the NHS about this appalling state of affairs and I want immediate clarification of what is happening.
“In the meantime I would advise everyone to check the NHS website for updates on the situation.”
