Two GP contracts have been advertised in recent weeks after notice was given by current providers Alba Medical Group in December, but by the closing date of January 23 no bids for the Moffat contract had been received.
A MEETING will take place next week to consider the awarding of an NHS contract to deliver GP services out of Lockerbie.
Deputy Medical Director Dr Grecy Bell said: “A number of expressions of interest were received for both contracts, but no bids were received for the contract to deliver services out of Moffat.
“This is regrettable, as we had hoped that those expressions of interest would have resulted in bids for both – either individually, or for the two contracts to be taken on together as they are at present.
“However, we now progress to assemble a scoring panel next week focused on the Lockerbie contract, with the hope of securing a provider who is well-placed to meet the needs of the local community.”
Work has been taking place within a limited time period to secure alternate providers for both contracts, which will continue to be delivered by Alba until May 31 2023.
It was recognised that if bids were not received for one or both contracts then provision would need to be made to continue delivery of services under direct management of Dumfries and Galloway NHS Board.
However, Dr Bell said: “Ensuring services are able to continue under direct Board management is not a quick or easy challenge. It will require looking to ensure we can enlist the services of staffing such as GPs for perhaps a limited time period until the contract can be awarded, and when there is great demand for clinicians across the whole of Scotland.
“Even as we begin to make those arrangements for Moffat, we will be looking to see what can be done around a procurement process which secures bidders for that contract, and identifying a suitable provider who can deliver these services for the wider community, which includes Wanlockhead, Leadhills and Elvanfoot.
“We will continue to work with the local communities on this, and around how our approaches can adapt to try and secure the best outcome.”
Members of community councils in areas served by the Lockerbie contract are being invited to attend the meeting in Dumfries next Tuesday January 31.
As part of efforts to maximise community engagement in the procurement process, they will be able to hear the same information which will be provided to the scoring panel, and to help inform the approaches of their two representatives on the panel who will then go on to fulfil their roles within the formal scoring process.
The other members of the scoring panel are the Head of Primary Care Services, the Deputy Medical Director, a representative of Finance, and a non-executive member of the Dumfries and Galloway NHS Board.
Details on the outcome of the process will be shared publicly as soon as the process permits.
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