A doctors surgery looks likely to shut after being deemed "unsuitable" for health care in the 21st century.

An application is being made by practice bosses to shut Garlinge Branch Surgery, which is an offshoot of The Limes Medical Centre in Margate, although they insist no patient will need to leave or re-register.

The surgery in Canterbury Road in Westbrook has been available to patients of The Limes since July 2016, to save them travelling into Margate, but this is no longer viable.

In a letter to patients, practice bosses said: "The premises are unsuitable for continued use as a surgery.

"We are contacting you to let you know that after a lot of discussion and consideration, we are applying to close our Garlinge branch surgery.

"We are aware that this will not be a popular decision with some patients, however the long term suitability of continuing to operate the premises compromises the provision of care to all our patients.

"We understand that applying to close the Garlinge branch site may make access to the practice more difficult for a number of patients however we believe that this change will strengthen the practice as a whole.

'The premises is not suitable for health care in the 21st century' - Garlinge Branch Surgery

"The challenges with keeping branch surgeries open are numerous and substantial.

"Some of the challenges we face that have led to this decision are; the premises is not suitable for health care in the 21st century and unsustainable pressure is placed on the GP partners."

If the branch does shut, all registered patients can be seen at The Limes Medical Centre, although housebound or very frail patients will still be able to request home visits.

The practice is now consulting with patients and the results will be presented to the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group.

To complete the survey visit www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/D3NYNP2

The consultation will end on August 14 and the deadline for any feedback is August 7.

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