A CLEVELEYS woman has spoken out against the closure of a GP's surgery which she says will upset hundreds of people who will now have to find a new doctor.

Vivian Wallace-Dand, 60, of Fleetwood Road, Norbreck, said she received a letter on January 14 telling her the surgery at Nutter Road would close within weeks.

"I am speaking on behalf of quite a lot of the patients who feel quite put out that this place has got to be shut down," she said.

"Patients are being left out on a limb and they have got to try and find somewhere else, but the area is already over-stocked patient-wise.

"My husband and I have signed up with somebody else and they were quite willing to take us on but it is a massive practice. I am not an old person but I just feel that after a family practice it will be overwhelming and I am sure many other people will feel the same way."

She believes around 2,000 patients will be affected by the closure of the surgery, which has been staffed by locum doctors since the retirement of GP Dr Sree Vijayan on October 15 last year.

A spokesman for North West Lancashire Health Authority said the authority met with the practice's patient group to discuss appointing a new GP. The spokesman said: "Unfortunately there is currently a national shortage of general practitioners and no applications were received in response to advertisments at both local and national level.

"Since Dr Vijayan's retirement, the practice has been supported by a number of locum practitioners but this is not sustainable in the interests of patients." She said it was agreed that patients should have the opportunity to choose a new doctor for themselves.

"Although this means that regretfully the surgery at Nutter Road will close, patients will be able to choose a practice that is both convenient and which would offer a range of services to meet their individual needs," she said.

And she denied patients would be left to fend for themselves. "It is understandable that this will be an unsettling time for patients who have been with the practice for a number of years. However, patients have been advised of those practices who are willing to accept new patients and anyone who experiences difficulty will be assisted in this process," she said.