DISCUSSIONS are being held to ensure that patients in Newtown St Boswells will continue to have access to a GP surgery.

The partners at Eildon Medical Practice, which also operates out of Melrose Health Centre, had previously indicated to NHS Borders that they intended to withdraw from Newtown in 2019.

At a briefing for Newtown and Eildon Community Council on Tuesday night, Rob McCulloch- Graham, Chief Officer of the Health and Social Care Partnership, confirmed that the Partnership is working with the GP Partners to maintain the services out of the Newtown surgery for the mid-term.

An ‘option appraisal’ process was undertaken last year to determine the Newtown surgery’s future and a planned refurbishment of Melrose Health Centre was postponed following the announcement by the Eildon partners.

The Health and Social Care Partnership have created a shortlist of three options for providing ongoing care to residents – consolidating the Melrose Health Centre, building a new surgery in Newtown or demolishing both and building a new centre to serve both communities.

A petition supporting the construction of a purpose-built facility in Newtown has received 386 signatures from concerned patients registered with Eildon Medical Practice.

Mr McCulloch-Graham sought to reassure worried patients, telling them: “The community participation and engagement in the process to determine the future provision of primary care services to the patients registered with the Eildon Practice has been really encouraging.

“We will continue to work together to ensure that any new practice building will be best suited to accommodate the high-quality health services necessary to meet the current and future needs of our local community.”

Councillor Elaine Thornton-Nicol said: “The concerns of the patients of Eildon Medical Practice in Newtown St Boswells are obviously high.

“I was pleased to hear the update from Rob and look forward as a patient to a positive outcome for us all.”