A leading doctor says "something radical needs to happen" to prevent a town's GP services from reaching crisis point.

Dr James Kelly raised concerns about workforce and the town's primary care services at Ashford Borough Council’s health and wellbeing board.

The doctor, who has spent 21 years at Kingsnorth Medical Practice in Ashford, said there could be a crisis if the current issues were not rectified - particularly with new housing developments being built in the borough.

“I think something radical needs to happen, in terms of workforce and in terms of premises because we are really struggling to recruit at the moment,” said Dr Kelly.

“Part of it is because we don’t have the premises attractive to bring in new candidates but the main reason we can’t recruit is because of the workload.

“General practice is becoming most untenable in terms of the intensity of the workload.

"Demand has risen over the past 10 years or so and the resources allowed by the NHS to primary care has really been static over that time."

According to the county’s Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP), 26% of GPs are over the age of 55 and are reaching the retirement age in Kent and Medway.

As well as this, only 40% of doctors who complete their GP training locally go on to work in Kent.

Dr Kelly added: “It’s a national issue but it is particularly acute for Ashford and Kent as a whole because Kent has the highest number of doctors aged over 55.

"That means many of us who are approaching retirement are just deciding that we can’t take this intensity anymore and we think about retiring early or reducing our hourly commitment.”

In the Kingsnorth area, Court Lodge and Kingsnorth Green developers are planning to build more than 1,500 homes on the land south of Pound Lane.

Nearby at Chilmington Green, work is already underway to construct 5,750 new homes by 2030.

Asked about the likelihood of the expansion of Kingsnorth Medical Practice to cope with demand, Dr Kelly said: “The surgery is at capacity now. Court Lodge is another 1,000 houses, so that’s going to be about 2,500 thousand patients.

“We’re going to have to do something in terms of room sizes or extensions to these premises but I think there’s a wider issue and that’s with Chilmington Green, as much of the development will be populated before its healthcare facilities are ready.

“The Chilmington Green primary care facility, and again which really isn’t fit for the future, only goes live at about year four or five.

“By that time there may be 4,000 people on Chilmington Green, so we need to find a means where surgeries like ourselves and St Stephens, who are already struggling, can offer the facilities and services that those patients deserve.

"I think something radical needs to happen, in terms of workforce and in terms of premises because we are really struggling to recruit at the moment..." - Dr James Kelly

"This means that we probably do need to be looking at something brand new in this area, something similar to what they have in Estuary View over in Whitstable, something that’s a really state of the art premises that we can offer to the new residents of Ashford.”

Responding to the concerns raised, a spokesman for NHS Ashford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “The CCG works closely with all practices to support them to ensure that we can provide the best possible care to all patients.

"Recruiting new GPs is a challenge in east Kent, just as it is across the country.

"The CCG, together with our partners, is working hard to help improve recruitment and retention and to provide more joined-up services, which will make better use of the resources that we have.

“By working together in networks, for example, practices can focus care on those with the highest need, such as frail patients, from a combined team of health and social care professionals.

“When determining what healthcare facilities are needed for the future, we take into account the changing nature of our local communities, the likely population growth and the impact of new housing developments in Ashford and the surrounding area.

"We work closely with the local authority, through the planning process, to ensure that everyone will have access to high-quality services."