Another North Wales GP practice has given notice it is quitting its contract as a doctor's union claims overworked surgeries are at "breaking point".

The Laurels Surgery, situated at Flint Wellbeing Centre in the town, will be under Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board control after March 31, 2020, when the current partners' notice period ends, unless new GPs are recruited to take over.

A source close to the surgery said "increased workloads" and "personal reasons" were to blame for all four GPs "jointly resigning" from the practice - something the British Medical Association (BMA) Cymru recognised.

Dr Phil White, chair of General Practitioners Council Wales, said GP numbers in North Wales had halved and problems needed addressing "with urgency".

He said: "Sadly, the BMA has been warning for years that general practice in north Wales is at breaking point, with practices continuing to hand back their keys to the health board. Workload is extremely high, and the gap continues to grow between the demand placed upon general practice and its capacity.

Dr Phil White
Dr Phil White

"There are areas in North Wales with no regular GPs and others where the number of GPs has halved. Retaining trained doctors needs to be the priority, as the numbers leaving the country to work elsewhere is high, along with GPs retiring early due to stress and burnout. This would alleviate the workload problems faced in North Wales. Only then can we provide the best care to our patients."

Patients received a letter from the health board on October 15, in which it explained it's currently trying to recruit GPs to take over. In the event it doesn't manage to find doctors to take it over, Betsi Cadwaladr would take direct control over the surgery.

The letter said: "We want to assure you that we are working closely with Dr Shaheir to plan how services will be delivered from The Laurels Surgery from April 1, 2020."

The news comes after it emerged two surgeries in Holyhead , Longford House and Cambria GP Practice, were recently taken over by the health board . It leaves Victoria Surgery as the only stand-alone practice in the town.

According to the BMA's own figures, North Wales has 50% of all Welsh surgeries under direct health board control. Since 2015 three have closed completely and eight are assessed as "at risk" - meaning their futures are uncertain. There are 105 GP practices in North Wales, with 17 now either under, or due to be under, direct health board control.

This is as a result of GP partnerships deciding to extricate themselves from, or not renew, their primary care contracts to run GP services.

Difficulties in recruitment across North Wales have been blamed for some of the problems, meaning more expensive locum doctors need to be drafted in. Also GPs are deciding to retire, with no one to replace them.

In April The Laurels, which has 6,400 patients on its list, was advertising for new GPs to join and even planning to be a "training practice". A spokeswoman declined to comment on its decision.

A spokeswoman for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: "We can confirm that the partners of The Laurels Surgery in Flint have given notice that they will be ending their contract with the Health Board to provide GP services on 31 March, 2020.

"We will shortly be advertising for GPs to take over the practice from 1 April, 2020. We would like to reassure patients that the practice will not be closing and they do not need to register elsewhere."