After giving up its contract to provide services, a Londonderry general practice's future is in doubt.
The Bridge Street Family GP practice intends to terminate its contract and has informed the strategic planning and performance group (SPPG) of this intention.
On July 31, that contract is set to expire.
The practice has about 4,800 patients, according to BBC News NI, who have been informed of the choice and will be updated on the next steps.
It comes after Racecourse Medical Group GP Practice in the Derry neighborhood of Shantallow announced a comparable change in December.
In a statement, the Department of Health (DoH) announced that it would now launch a hiring process to establish new arrangements for providing GP services.
According to the department, Bridge Street Medical Practice will continue to hold onto the contract to provide GP services for the upcoming six months.
Patients should continue contacting the practice as usual and are not required to take any action.
The department announced that they will write to every practice patient to keep them updated as this process gets going.
Dr. Alan Stout, co-chair of the British Medical Association's GP committee, said "far too many contracts are going back" in an interview with BBC Radio Foyle's Mark Patterson Show.
"Whenever a practice decides they are not financially viable and cannot continue to operate, they notify the board or the department that they will no longer provide those services," he explained.
There is a six-month notice period to hand back a contract, so once it is handed back, "the clock starts ticking," he added.
"At that point, frantic work begins to either find new physicians, a new contractor, or something to keep that practice going.
Patients are requested not to leave or move while the work is being done. If possible, a new contractor will be hired at the end of the six months or earlier.
According to Dr. Stout, it was extremely difficult for two practices in Derry to hand over and receive contracts.
We are discussing some extremely underdeveloped areas, and this is where we are aware of health disparities, he continued.
