SEVERAL surgeries in Keighley and Craven will close from Monday as local GPs focus services on fewer buildings.

Oakworth Medical Centre, Long Lee Surgery, Holycroft Surgery, Steeton Surgery and Gargrave Surgery will be closed to patients.

Modality Practices are shutting the buildings so they can keep most of their surgeries open and offer full community health service.

Modality also runs Crosshills Group Practice, Silsden Group Practice, Farfield Group Practice, Kilmeny Group Medical Practice, Haworth Medical Practice and Fisher Medical Centre in Skipton. These will remain open.

Modality said it had to close some of its buildings to use its resources in the best, most efficient way.

A spokesman said: "We have the full support of our local Clinical Commissioning Group and are following the new guidance issued to Primary Care providers by NHS England as we seek to continue to offer both routine and on-the-day general practice.

"We continue to insist that patients contact us remotely either by phone or by online services such as E Consult. This is to minimise risks to patients and staff. If we need to see you face to face we will arrange to do this.

"Our staff are in the front line every day with patients and even with the changes we have made, we can deploy our resources in the best possible way so we can continue to help all our patients even though this may be in different locations."

Dr Matt Curtis, Medical Director of Modality in Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven, said: "We live in unprecedented times and this once in a generation event has meant we have had to introduce the contingency plans we have for major incidents such as this.

"As a Group partnership we have the ability to react across Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven, and our contingency planning has ensured we have been able to deliver high-quality general practice in a safe environment over the last 10 days.

"Even though we have had staff in self isolation and staff sickness we have been able to deliver full general practice at over 90% of our sites in the area."

Dr Curtis said next week would be different.

He added: "Our GPs, nurses and health administrators have been under terrific pressure, so we will be moving to a hub model locally to ensure that we can continue to offer General Practice and health services from a majority of our locations.

"We will still be asking for patients to contact us by phone and remotely by services such as E Consult, but if patients are asked to come to a surgery it will be at the key hubs we have identified as being the best, most suitable environments. We can concentrate our resources in these hubs to ensure that ‘we are open for business’.

"Patients can still ring up or send in E Consults or apply for prescriptions on-line. If we need to see patients we will see them at the hub surgeries that remain open.

"We will continue to offer routine appointments, immunisations, and general nursing, but you will receive a phone call before your appointment to confirm the location for this appointment.

"As a group of practices we can use our resources to ensure even at this time when demands on our staff have never been higher, we can continue to offer high quality care across Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven. 

"For avoidance of doubt, from Monday March 23, Oakworth Medical Centre, Long Lee Surgery, Holycroft Surgery, Steeton Surgery and Gargrave Surgery will be closed to patients.

"Phone lines will divert – so closed surgeries phone numbers will be answered, and you can still make online requests via surgery websites."

Modality Practice continued with its existing advice:

Please DO NOT come to the surgery in person unless requested by a member of staff. If you need to contact us please do so via telephone or using our online services. We understand that this will make the phone lines busier during these times so if possible please use Econsult which can be found on our website. Econsult can be used for admin requests or help with new or existing conditions, a clinician will get back to you via email or telephone. If you need to be seen the clinician will inform you of this.

All pre-booked appointments will now be done via telephone, please ensure your contact details are up to date and correct. Please DO NOT attend the surgery for your appointment unless you have been asked to by a member of staff.

For prescriptions, please ensure you have nominated a pharmacy, if you have not and have regular prescriptions that you collect from the surgery please go to the pharmacy of your choosing and speak to them to set them up as your nominated pharmacy. To request your prescription, this can be done using online services, if you have not got access to our online services through our website please download the NHS app prescription requests can be done via these. Please note it might take a few minutes to register but once completed it is very simple to use.  You can also make request via Econsults.- see surgery websites.

If you have Symptons of Corona Virus or COVID 19 – please follow the advice below:

If you have a persistent cough and/or a fever the advice is to self-isolate. This is the best way for us all to protect others especially those most at risk of serious illness. See our self- isolation guide modalitypartnership.nhs.uk/images/Guidance_on_Self-isolation.JPG

Please do not attend your GP surgery or Hospital A & E.

If you have serious symptoms and cannot manage at home you should use NHS 111 online - only call NHS111 if you cannot get online.

Please can we ask that you share this information as much as possible and with any groups you think would be beneficial.

For latest information please go to nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/.