A community which produced a video to try and attract a new GP to their village have been told the surgery will remain open.
Coniston Village Surgery had been facing an uncertain future after one of the serving GPs announced their retirement
The practice had been unable to recruit another partner.
Now NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, which organises healthcare services for the area, has confirmed that a new provider to manage the service will be sought.
Peter Tinson, director of primary and community commissioning at the ICB, said: “We have listened to the feedback and, having ascertained that there are potential alternative providers that may wish to come forward during a procurement, we are pleased to announce we will be going out to try to identify a new provider for the service.
“Our priority is and always has been to maintain a high-quality primary care service that is accessible to people in the village and the surrounding areas.”
The board says the surgery will continue to operate as it does now until July 31.
From August 1, a caretaker will be appointed to run the service and this will continue to be from the current premises in Wraysdale House.
This means the location of the service will remain the same for the time being, however there will be a change in personnel managing and providing services from the practice.
Details of who that caretaker organisation will be have not yet been confirmed, however there are interested parties prepared to step in and manage the service on a temporary basis until a permanent contract can be procured.
The board said it could take up to a year to find a new provider and have pledged to keep in touch with the patient participation group during the process.
The practice has around 1,000 patients and there has been a practice in the village for 170 years.
