Nearly 3,500 patients at DMC Walderslade Surgery will have to find a new GP following news the NHS is aiming to close the site.

A letter sent this week to patients explained the contract with DMS Healthcare, which runs the site, was due to end on March 31 next year, and that it would be hard to secure a new contract “given the relatively small number of patients registered at the surgery.”

Although the plans are only at the consultation stage, the letter from Sarah Macdonald, director of commissioning for NHS England South, makes the NHS view clear.

It states that the surgery is currently housed in a portable building which “does not provide the best environment for your care, or for the delivery of modern GP services.”

And it adds: “We think that by supporting you to register with another GP surgery in the area, we could guarantee your ongoing care and strengthen existing local GP practices over the coming years.”

The potential closure would leave the “relatively small number” of 3,400 patients to join a burgeoning number of patients looking for a new GP, and Cllr David Wildey said the plans needed to be looked at closely.

Cllr Wildey, chairman of Medway’s health and adult social care overview and scrutiny committee, said it was part of a worrying trend that he and other committee members would be discussed in October’s meeting.

“Last night the committee was told we’ve lost four GP surgeries in the last six months,” he said. “It’s probably going to be an ongoing problem.”

Cllr Wildey said NHS plans for specialist nurses and new systems for assessing patient needs might help alleviate pressures but could not replace surgeries.

“Given the choice we would have enough GPs to go round,” he added. “People are already waiting three weeks for an appointment.

“In the next year or two there’s going to be 5000 new GPs but one of the questions is how many GPs are going to retire?”