A DOCTORS surgery in Cradley has been forced to close early on a third day after failing to recruit a GP who is willing to work Fridays.

Chapel House Surgery is now closing at 1pm on Fridays - in a move which will be reviewed in three months' time with bosses at the surgery citing a national shortage in doctors.

It already closes at 1pm Tuesdays and Thursdays.

A note to patients on its website stated the early closure on Fridays was due to: 'the difficulties we have faced with recruiting a GP to work on a Friday' but bosses said they struggle to recruit GPs in general.

The surgery in Chapel House Lane is part of Wychbury Medical Practice which also incorporates Wychbury Medical Centre and Cradley Road Surgery.

It will now close at 1pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, with it opening from 8am till 6pm on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The partnership at Wychbury said in a statement: “As a practice, like most general practices across the country, we have struggled to recruit GPs to safely provide services from all our sites on every day of the week.

"After talking to our patient participation group and looking at feedback from our patients over the last month we have decided we have to reduce the opening hours of one of our branch surgeries.

"Over the last few weeks we have been communicating to our patients and giving them an opportunity to comment on this change which will see the Chapel House surgery reduce its opening hours on a Friday afternoon.

"We are committed to listening to our patients and as such we have not reduced the number of appointments available across our sites.

"We continue to welcome feedback from our patients and will review these arrangements in three months’ time.”

Cradley MP Margot James said: “I do understand the concerns that some of my constituents will have about this news.

"When an individual requires medical help, they want to feel safe in the knowledge that they can get an appointment as quickly as possible.

“I am pleased that Chapel House Surgery, under the Wychbury Medical Group, has a ‘good’ CQC report. In fact, inspectors praised staff commenting on how friendly and attentive they were, whilst treating patients with respect – it is very important to me that GP practices such as this are present in my constituency.

“As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, this Government is investing in primary and community care and the Health Secretary has announced that at least £4.5 billion will be spent in real terms per year by 2023/24.

“The Government remains committed to delivering 5,000 additional GPs by 2020, through new incentives for training, recruitment, retention, and return to practice.”

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RSGP) said in a report released last December that more than 350 practices in England alone could face closure within a year as doctors quit the profession over working conditions.

A national shortage of GPs is also thought to have been exacerbated by young doctors who prefer to work four days a week instead of five.