Campaigners turned out to protest GP surgery closures in Broadstairs yesterday.

The group Save Our NHS In Kent (SONIK) fears proposals to create three new super-sized GP practices in Thanet, each catering for tens of thousands of patients, will put smaller practices at risk.

A spokesman said: "NHS bosses say they have no plans to close GP surgeries, but we are seeing the closures are happening.

"We have lost three surgeries in recent months and we know there are more closures on the way.

"They say these super hubs will have extra facilities and will be able to provide a higher standard of medical care.

"In reality we believe they are just a very poor way of trying to cope with the chronic shortage of doctors. In fact we need more doctors in the community, near their patients, and not in out of town super hubs."

The demonstrators say the "super hub" model is unsuited to Thanet, where car ownership is low and there is a high proportion of elderly, poor and vulnerable patients who find it difficult to attend appointments at centres further away.

SONIK is also calling for assurances that if approved, these one-stop-shops, which would offer procedures such as ultrasound scans, X-rays and some minor surgeries which are currently only available in hospital, will not lead to a reduction in services at Margate's QEQM.

"These are exactly the kinds of people who need continuous care from the same doctor — in other words local GPs," the spokesman continued.

"The essential problem we face is a national shortage of GPs, the result of years of cuts and austerity. We need more doctors and the way to tackle this problem is for more serious levels of investment in the NHS as a whole.

"The new super hubs should never be used as a justification for any reduction of service at QEQM Hospital. We'd like an assurance that that won't be the case"

NHS Thanet CCG has said that local people have 'repeatedly' asked over the years for integrated centres where more of the health and social care services they need are offered in one place.