For the last few months the Island Medical Centre has had only one doctor, Simon Hamilton, and practice owners Island Medical said he was ‘exhausted and in danger of burnout’.
‘The obligation to provide 24/7 cover in the surgery and the hospital is unsustainable and unsafe. Doctors understand this, and it is impossible to attract or keep good doctors on the island,’ the company said in a statement.
‘Dr Hamilton is currently the only doctor in the IMC. He has worked tirelessly to do his best for our patients but is now exhausted and in danger of burnout. This puts him and the practice in an impossible and dangerous position.’
Island Medical took over the practice in 2016 when it was on the brink of bankruptcy and said it had invested heavily since.
Despite this, and the owners working pro bono, the business has made a loss every year.
The announcement that the practice was closing has led to crisis talks between senior politicians in Alderney and Guernsey. They have said they are working on a solution.
Island Medical welcomed the news. ‘IML will work with them in any way possible to develop a long-term safe and viable model of healthcare for the island.’
A joint statement from Guernsey chief minister Deputy Peter Ferbrache and Alderney’s Policy & Finance Committee chairman Bill Abel assured Alderney residents that all options were being explored to make sure the island had appropriate GP support in the short term ‘and to develop a sustainable and robust healthcare service in the long term’.
Because it is operated by a private company, Alderney’s GP services do not fall under the responsibility of Guernsey’s Health & Social Care committee.
‘However, given the clear importance of this issue for the Alderney community the States of Guernsey will offer its full support to help find a solution,’ said the two politicians.
Services for which HSC are responsible in Alderney will continue to operate.
Possible options for care include temporary facilities at the island's hospital and bringing in locum doctors.
Deputy Mark Helyar should be in Alderney today to work with Alderney politicians on the issue.
The States of Guernsey has said there will be a short-term solution for GP cover by the weekend, while options are sought and considered for a long-term option. We have been actively exploring alternative options to ensure appropriate GP cover remains in place for the people of Alderney in the context of an acute national shortage of these doctors.
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