The government says it knows GP practices are finding it hard to attract doctors.

The Department of Health and Social Care is working with them to support them with filling vacancies. However a shortage of GPs in the UK is not helping the island recruiting more.

Minister David Ashford this week was asked by Speaker Juan Watterson what action the DHSC has taken regarding GP recruitment since the closure of the Promenade Medical Centre in February,

The practice, which had been one doctor short for over a year, closed due to the impending retirement of another GP. This would have left only one GP in the practice with over 4,000 patients.

Mr Ashford said: ’Each practice is contractually obliged to ensure that they have enough clinical staff to deliver the service provided to patients under contract with the DHSC.

’Having said the above, the department is cognisant of the difficulties in recruiting GPs in the Isle of Man and is working with practices in a number of ways to support them with recruiting to their vacancies.

’It is important to note that GP recruitment is an issue beyond the Isle of Man and there remains a significant shortage in the UK.’

He added that since the Promenade Medical Centre has closed down, the DHSC had advertising for additional salaried GPs (they work for the DHSC) and continued to ensure that links are created from the vacancies advertised for salaried GPs to the partnership opportunities that also exist on the island.

Mr Ashford said the support has also included working with two practices which ’have up and coming vacancies and will struggle to maintain their current services if they don’t recruit’.

Primary care officers have also created a recruitment and resilience plan for each of those practices and are working through the plan with them.

The Minister added: ’Primary care officers are engaged with Locate Isle of Man, part of the Department for Enterprise, in planning a campaign which will promote the island to GPs.

’Those who are interested in relocating will register on the Locate talent portal, enabling the primary care team to connect directly with GPs seeking to live and work in the island.

’The DHSC did ensure that the practice who took a large proportion of patients from the closure of Promenade Medical Centre - 2,000 patients - did have one GP resource who moved with the patients for a period of time.’

He added: ’The other practices are adjusting to their new patient levels and have put plans in place either to recruit additional GPs, to recruit or to train additional advanced nurse practitioners or to employ additional clinical staff.’