Patients in one part of Merseyside have been told their appointments may have to be cancelled or re-scheduled, after a GP practice unexpectedly closed.

Pilch Lane Surgery in Huyton has not been open to patients since Tuesday (December 16), and will remain closed for the remainder of the week, according to the practice manager.

The LDRS had seen a text message from the GP practice sent out at 8am on Wednesday (December 17), informing patients it was closed due to “unforeseen circumstances”, and advising them not to attend the surgery.

This was followed by an email sent this morning at 9am (Thursday, December 18), providing an update: “The surgery will be closed until Monday, 22/12/2025. ALL prescription requests should be made either via the website or over the phone. Temporarily, all appointments will be telephone consultations. For urgent matters, please attend a walk-in centre or A&E.”

After contacting the practice to enquire about the details behind the closure, the practice manager sent a statement to the LDRS, writing: “As you may be aware the practice experienced an issue with drainage at the Pilch Lane Surgery site on Tuesday 16th December which necessitated that the premises be closed to public temporarily.

“The practice has enacted its business continuity plan and, working in collaboration with neighbouring GP practices continues to offer the full range of GP practice services for registered patients.

“Patients should be assured they can continue to seek assessment or care to meet their needs by using the online request form (available on practice website), telephoning the practice using the usual contact number (telephone lines have been redirected and practice team are available to respond to calls).

“If patients wish to attend in person to make an enquiry or request support the practice, in line with their business continuity plan, [we] have established a temporary reception desk at a neighbouring GP practice (Dinas Lane Medical Centre) where patients will be supported by Pilch Lane practice staff.

“The practice have arrangements in place to provide face to face appointments/physical examinations for patients who require this and will advise individual patients when they contact the practice if this is required.

“Clearly in managing this issue there may be a requirement to cancel/reschedule more routine or planned appointments until the main practice premises are fully re-opened but any patients affected (e.g. if they have a pre-booked appointment cancelled and re-arranged) will be contacted directly by the practice.

“Contractors are currently on-site to determine the exact cause of the issue and urgently complete any remedial works. The practice will issue further communication to registered patients as soon as more definitive information is available regarding the expected timeframe to resolve any issues experienced at the premises.

“At time of writing we are confident that the impact will be short term and hope to be fully re-opened by early next week but in the interim patients should continue to contact the practice as usual and the team will be able to respond to their needs.”