Routine GP appointments will not be available from 1pm to 6pm on the afternoon of September 10.

Doctors are to go to a quarterly education session.

Anyone who needs to see a doctor urgently should ring their surgery for an appointment with the on-call GP.

Practices will remain open during the afternoon for patients to collect test results, make future appointments and order repeat prescriptions as normal.

At the session, Dr Arfon Williams will discuss the issues surrounding rising patient numbers at GP practices and the difficulties of recruitment along with his own experiences of managing two rural practices as the sole GP.

The quarterly education sessions were established in 2012 to give GPs the opportunity to discuss developments in medical care and best practice, and to examine ways to enhance care for patients in the Isle of Man at a focused session away from their surgeries.