A new provider has been awarded the contract to deliver medical services in Moffat.
The Lochmaben Medical Group will take over provision from November and services will continue to be delivered from the practice’s current sites in the Upper Annandalke town and Leadhills.
NHS Dumfries and Galloway chief executive Jeff Ace said he was delighted to make the announcement after Lanarkshire-based Alba Medical Group left in the spring.
In a statement, Lochmaben Medical Group’s partners said: “We are very excited to extend the service we provide to the residents of Lochmaben into the Moffat community.
“Our aim is to develop Moffat Surgery into a sustainable practice, supported by a commitment from the health board to explore more suitable premises in the future.
“We recognise that recruiting and maintaining a regular clinical workforce at Moffat has been a major challenge in recent years. We are a well-established local GP surgery that is passionate about being a training practice, which means that we train the next generation of doctors and medical students.
“This has been vital in our recruitment of clinical staff at Lochmaben over the years, and is a model we look to replicate in Moffat.
“As a partnership, we are also clear that we wish to maintain our clinical commitments to the patients at Lochmaben surgery, whom we have been proud to serve for so many years.
“We ask for patience and understanding as we endeavour to stabilise services at Moffat in the increasingly challenging world of primary care.”
The news was welcomed by local politicians who have campaigned for a replacement to Alba Medical Group.
Dumfriesshire MP David Mundell, constituency MSP Oliver Mundell and Moffat-based councillor Lynne Davis, released a joint statement.
They said: “This news will bring some certainty to patients in Moffat and the wide rural areas covered by the practice who have been deeply concerned about the future availability of community healthcare.
“The new contractors, Lochmaben Medical Group, have a good track record of operating in Dumfriesshire and are acutely aware of local needs and concerns.
“We are pleased NHS Dumfries and Galloway are to assist the practice become fully established including helping identify more appropriate surgery premises, if required.
“Equally important is the new operator’s commitment to keep surgery premises in Moffat and the Lowther Hills area once they take over in November.”
