Alderney medical centre closure is postponed
ALDERNEY’S only medical practice has been saved from closure temporarily after Queens Road Medical Practice offered doctors from the group to work in the island until early June.
The island’s only medical doctor, Simon Hamilton, has been running the practice alone for the last few months, and was said to have been ‘exhausted and in danger of burn-out’ if he continued to do so.
Yesterday, the Island Medical Centre announced that two doctors from QRMP would work on a rotational basis which would delay the closure of the centre.
‘After intense discussions with all interested parties we are pleased to report that we are now in a position to delay closure of the IMC from Friday 6 May to Friday 3 June.
‘During that time all parties involved will make every effort to agree on a healthcare system in Alderney that is both safe and viable in the long term.
‘We are confident that all parties involved are now committed to work to that end, and that the IMC will continue to serve the community,’ it said in a social media post.
Alderney Age Concern founder Barbara Benfield said it was
an absolute relief for everyone
in the island, particularly the
older residents.
‘It is like a black cloud has been lifted off the whole island.
‘I would not have wanted to be in the IMC’s staff shoes, you can’t run a doctors’ practice with just one GP.
‘We’re all crossing our fingers and legs and everything else that will cross that a resolution will be found,’ she said.
n Nobody from Queens Road Medical Practice was available for comment.
