PATIENTS worried about staff turnover at a busy GP surgery in Oxford shared their frustrations after the sudden departure of another ‘excellent’ doctor.

The Botley Medical Centre in Elms Road, which also runs Kennington Health Centre after merging in 2017, confirmed that Dr Simon Clough is leaving the practice.

The doctor, who worked at both sites as a GP, thanked his patients for the ‘warm’ reception and for ‘entrusting’ him with their care.

However, Dr Clough is not the only GP to have left the centre in the last year and a half.

He is one of three – a statistic that did not go unnoticed amongst concerned patients in Botley who said the practice has now lost ‘its best’ doctors.

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But Dr Aintzane Ballestero, senior partner at Botley Medical Centre, argued that staff turnover remains ‘relatively low’.

Addressing Dr Clough’s departure, she commented: “We are sad that he has decided to leave the practice.

“He was popular with his patients and other members of staff, and we thank him for his work here over the past four years and wish him well for the future.

“Despite the pressure on all GP practices because of the pandemic and the vaccination roll-out, we are fortunate that the turnover of doctors here at Botley Medical Centre has been relatively low.

“Before Dr Clough’s recent departure, two GPs left in the previous 18 months, both for personal reasons – one in October 2019 and the second in April 2020.”

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Dr Ballestero confirmed that the centre is now looking to recruit more GPs.

In a much-discussed post on social media, residents praised Dr Clough for his professionalism and for going above and beyond to help people.

A message from the outgoing GP to patients, which was first published in the community newsletter The Sprout, said: “I apologise I did not have the opportunity to inform you in advance of my departure from the practice, which was rather sudden.

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“I was sad to have to leave the practice, and I will miss working there.

“The decision to leave was entirely mine; my reasons were professional, and arose through no fault of my own.”

It is still unclear why Dr Clough quit, however, the Botley Medical Centre is not an isolated case.

In fact, more than half of GPs are considering quitting the profession or retiring early after working under intense pressure during the pandemic, according to a poll published by medical defence organisation the MDDUS earlier this year.