A THRIVING doctor’s surgery is bucking the local trend and enjoying major success while others in the area are in crisis.

Short-staffed surgeries around Tendring are finding it impossible to recruit enough doctors and keep up with patient demand.

Facilities in Clacton, Frinton and Walton have all been hit by a crippling shortage of doctors and have had to rely on expensive locums.

But the surgery in High Street, Thorpe, still has a whopping 98 per cent patient approval rating and has been able to stay fully staffed, despite the struggles elsewhere.

Manager Karen Austin said: “We are doing whatever we can to make sure this is a first class surgery for our patients, who we work very closely with.

“We are open 12 hours a day, from 8am-8pm, in response to a request from our patient participation group.

“Our patient group is very active and we like to involve them in decision making.

“Thanks to the good work we have been doing we have been able to attract new doctors and experienced nursing staff to maintain our high standards.

“It’s important to provide a great service for our residents. People expect to be able to get an appointment when they phone their doctors and we work hard to make sure they can.”

MP Douglas Carswell has been campaigning for more than a year to attract more doctors to the area and improve struggling surgeries.

He visited the Thorpe surgery last week to find out what staff are doing right in a bid to see their success emulated elsewhere.