THE area’s Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is urging patients at a threatened South Lakes GP surgery to have their say on the future of the service.

Morecambe Bay CCG is currently consulting with patients at the Goodly Dale practice in Bowness, after notice was given on the present arrangement with a Leeds-based private provider, OneMedical Group.

A meeting of the Primary Care Commissioning Committee was held on Tuesday, August 18 to discuss the future of the GP surgery, as the contract is due to expire on March 31, 2021.

OneMedical said the decision to end the contract had ‘not been taken lightly’ and was made ‘in consideration of the needs of the local community’.

South Lakes MP, Tim Farron, reports a number of constituents having raised concerns with his office over the care provided during the time the agreement with OneMedical has been in place - primarily over concerns of a lack of continuity in the care they received (owing to an ‘over-reliance’ on locums), as well as patients regularly struggling to book an appointment due to staff shortages.

Along with two Liberal Democrat councillors - Andrew Jarvis and Dyan Jones - Mr Farron has now launched a petition calling for Goodly Dale to be saved.

He said this week: “It’s incredibly important that we retain the two GP services in the town.

“We’ve learned in the past few years that an out-of-town operator doesn’t have the long-term interests and the health and well-being interests of the people in our town - which has led me personally to stand up and try to save this site. “This is why I’m leading a bid to take over this service. We simply can’t afford to see this dispersal. “I’m working on a bid, as well as with other landlords, to try and secure another site if the lease is not made available."