HUNDREDS of patients have been told their surgery could close in three months after a GP announced his retirement.

NHS chiefs are in the process of deciding whether to “re-procure” the West End Lane surgery or disperse its 1,400 patients to other practices in West Hampstead and Kilburn.

Dr Alan Grasse, who has run the small, “single-handed” surgery for more than 30 years, has written to NHS England informing them of plans to “relinquish his GP contract and resign” on May 15.

Labour politicians – headed by Hampstead and Kilburn parliamentary candidate Tulip Siddiq – immediately began a campaign to make sure a replacement is found, insisting that closure was “symptomatic of wider problems” about funding in the NHS.

They have said: “We are deeply concerned that NHS England are considering the closure of West End Lane Surgery.  Should NHS England take the drastic step to close, it would put an impossible strain on healthcare services. 

“Over the next few years we are set to see significant population growth in the local area due to a number of major developments. This will only add to the pressures already faced by local GP surgeries.”

The West End Lane surgery, in a house on the corner of Cotleigh Road, takes patients living in an catchment area bounded by Priory Road, Sherriff Road, Quex Road and Kilburn High Road.

If no replacement is found they will be “dispersed” to nearby practices  one-by-one, with people with disabilities and mental health conditions taking priority. 

In September last year, Dr Dunia Al-Naemi was forced to shut her Bedford Square Medical Centre in Bloomsbury because of a drop in funding. 

At the time, she said: “Unfortunately, the NHS is falling apart due to shortage of funding, and this has reflected negatively on the morale of the profession. General practice now is increasingly dispiriting and has changed dramatically in the last few years.

An NHS London spokeswoman said: “NHS England has recently been informed by Dr Grasse at West End Lane Surgery that he will be retiring in May 2015. 

“We are currently exploring future arrangements for patients at the surgery, so that they can continue to access primary care services in their area. 

“Before any decision is taken we will fully consult with patients and others to gauge their views on how we should proceed.”