Patients at a Rochester doctor’s surgery may be forced to register at another practice after the suspension of the GP in charge.

The future of the Rochester Community Healthy Living Centre hangs in the balance as the temporary contract, held by a caretaker GP, comes to an end on March 31.

NHS England has written to all 1,800 people registered, to advise them of the situation and invite their views.

Stakeholders of the practice in Delce Road have also been consulted in a letter from Deborah Tomalin, head of commissioning at NHS England.

Mrs Tomalin wrote: “NHS England’s priority is to ensure that patients have continued access to a full range of GP services and care after this date.

“We are now working with Medway Clinical Commissioning Group and other stakeholders to identify the best available option to achieve this.

“However, it is possible that we will need to ask patients to register with a new GP practice in order to secure their future care.

“If this is the case, patients will be given as much notice and support as possible to register with a new local practice.”

Dr Peter Gilbert, from the Thorndike Practice in Longley Road, Rochester, has been overseeing the centre since Dr Nihal Elapatha was suspended by the Medical Tribunal Practitioners Service, which took over from the General Medical Council.

Partners from the Thorndike and locums have been covering since his departure.

Dr Elapatha, an experienced GP, was suspended for a year in February and had his contract terminated after a hearing found that his professional performance was “unacceptable”.

Some patients staged a demonstration in support of Dr Elapatha after his suspension.

The health centre also incorporates a wound clinic, speech therapy, blood testing, antenatal and physiotherapy services.

NHS England has said it will write to patients again in January after carrying out a review and when it is in a position to confirm new care arrangements.

Cllr Teresa Murray, Medway Council’s Labour group health spokesman, has replied to NHS England expressing her concerns that neighbouring surgeries were already full.

Cllr Murray also felt that many patients would be unsettled by moving to another practice and it would have a financially detrimental effect on the other facilities at the centre. She said: “If patients are expected to register with other GPs in the local area, choice is quite limited.

“Realistically, they would choose between City Way surgery and the Thorndike practice, both of which are operating at capacity.

“So obtaining appointments and treatment may become more difficult for all patients.”