A RESOLUTION to Maldon’s GP crisis seems far from close.

This week, 13 months after we first reported how both Longfield Medical Centre and Blackwater Medical Centre had closed their lists to new patients, the situation remains the same.

For months both surgeries, the Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS England have been working to find a solution.

Despite attempts to recruit new GPs, the lists remain closed.

Both practices have taken the decision it would be unsafe to allow more patients to join.

They fear adding extra patients to their GPs already high workload could have further consequences for the surgeries.

Many will be asking whether the centres need more help to recruit extra doctors and get the lists back open.

But the reality is practices up and down the country are feeling similar pressures.

Until recruitment problems are address at a higher level it is likely there won’t be a solution any time soon.

Hopefully a way forward can be found.