Damian Collins, the MP for Folkestone and Hythe, has received assurances from the South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) that every patient registered with a GPs’ surgery that is due to close in October will be found an alternative doctor.

He met with health bosses after concerns that patients of the Folkestone East Family Practice would be left without GP cover, after other surgeries in the town declared they had no vacancies and could take no more patients.

Seven surgeries in Folkestone said that if patients were “forcefully allocated” to other surgeries in the town, it would make GP services unsafe and they said they would be applying to the CCG to close their patient lists.

The seven included Central Surgery, Guildhall Street Surgery, Manor Clinic, The New Surgery, Park Farm Surgery and Sandgate Road Surgery in Folkestone and also the Hawkinge and Elham Surgery.

But after talks with Dr Jonathan Bryant, the chairman of the South Kent Coast CCG, and with Hazel Carpenter, the CCG’s accountable officer, Mr Collins was assured that patients at the Folkestone East Family Practice would receive a letter prior to its closure on October 31, offering an alternative GP.

He was told there were three practices with open lists: the White House surgery in Cheriton, and both surgeries in Lyminge.

In addition, the White Cliffs Medical Centre in Dover is accepting new patients.

Patients who do not live within the catchment areas of one of these surgeries will be offered a place at an alternative surgery in Folkestone, and the CCG is asking them to let them know which their preferred GP practice would be.

If patients from Folkestone East do not nominate a GP surgery to be transferred to, they will automatically be allocated to one.

Mr Collins said: “No-one will be left without a GP.”

Anyone unhappy with their allocated doctor will be able to seek a transfer.

The CCG will be increasing funding to all the GP practices that take on extra patients, above and beyond the funding per patient that they would normally receive.

The bonus paid in the first year following the transfer will be an increase of around 50% of their current funding per patient, with some of the money coming from NHS England.

The CCG is also pursuing a number other measures to ease pressure on GPs, including a new home-visiting service, comprising a team of paramedics, nurses and healthcare assistants to carry out home visits to housebound patients on behalf of GP practices.

The three doctors currently working at Folkestone East are not being lost to the town, but will transfer to the Sandgate Road surgery.