Second GP added at Bishop's Castle surgery
Bishop's Castle is to finally get a second GP after months of making do with a single doctor at its medical practice.
Two of the doctors at Bishop's Castle Medical Practice left the surgery earlier this year after a long-running dispute, and, in a shock move Dr Adrian Penney, who had been largely absent from the surgery during the three-year row, returned to the practice in February.
Dr Penney bought out former colleagues Dr Adrian Fairbanks and Dr Sue Lambert, who left immediately. The nature of the dispute was never revealed.
Since then the practice has been running with Dr Penney as the surgery's sole partner, with the help of locum doctors covering appointments.
Now the practice has announced a second GP, Dr Paul Gardner, will join Dr Penney as a partner at the end of September.
Dr Gardner is currently GP principal at Mytton Oak Surgery in Shrewsbury, as well as medical officer for Shrewsbury School, and GP clinical lead for learning disabilities for Shropshire CCG.
Nick Hutchins, chairman of Bishop's Castle Patients Group, said: "We believe that this is good news for patients and the medical practice. With a second partner, and the possibility of further partners in the future, Bishop's Castle Medical Practice will be well placed to develop and continue to provide an excellent service to its registered patients.
"BCPG looks forward to welcoming Dr Gardner to the surgery and to working with him in the autumn.
"Female doctors, including Doctors Morton, Povey, Short and Winter, will continue to hold regular surgeries at the practice, whilst Dr Paterson will remain until July and return to the practice in September, so there will continue to be a wide choice of excellent doctors available for appointments.
"It is an exciting time for the practice, with the opportunity to redesign and rethink the way in which it operates and prepare it for the challenges facing general practice nationally," he said.
Mr Hutchins said the practice was also advertising for a second prescribing nurse practitioner to work alongside Sister Isobel Sawyer.
At a public meeting last month Dr Penney said he felt that he was building the practice from scratch and the appointment of three full-time or four part-time GPs, together with two nurses, would be ideal.
