A GP practice in Gwent which is set to resign its contract later this year has been forced to move routine appointments this week, due to staffing issues.

The Blaenavon Medical Practice has this week taken to social media to inform patients that this week, the practice is experiencing “a severe reduction in GP workforce”.

They said that this has come as a result of “unforeseen circumstances”.

As a consequence, a number of routine appointments which were set to take place across the week are set to be rearrange to a later date.

Patients who have seen their appointments impacted are said to have been contacted directly.

Urgent care provision is continuing throughout the week, with patients asked to contact them, but only if the need is indeed urgent.

It is understood that the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has been notified.

While the circumstances which have led to the current GP shortage have not been made clear, it comes at a time when the health board as a whole is experiencing staff shortages due to a rise in covid cases.

Though this is not definitively the cause at this time, it is thought that one-in-20 people in Wales currently have the virus.

What’s more, this is not the first staffing related issue at Blaenavon Medical Practice in recent times.

So much so, that the partnership running the practice is handing back its contract to the health board at the end of the year – due to difficulty hiring GPs.

Maria Potter, practice manager, said: “The difficult decision to resign from the GMS contract with the Aneurin Bevan Health Board has been made due to the inability to recruit new GPs to fill existing vacancies.

“The GP partnership will end on December 31, 2022, and until then the services will remain unchanged.”

What has the medical practice said?

In a post on its social media page, a representative from the Blaenavon Medical Practice said: "Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances there is a severe reduction in GP workforce this week.

"This means we cannot currently operate as normal. Some routine appointments will be rearranged. You will be notified if this affects your appointment.

"We are continuing to provide urgent care so please only contact us if you have an urgent problem.

"Sorry for the inconvenience but this is completely out of our control. We will be informing the Health Board of our status tomorrow morning."