New plans for a stop-gap GP surgery for Carse of Gowrie are expected to be lodged this week.
Carse Medical Group has to move out of its main premises in Errol on Monday, as the building is up for sale, and will operate from its second site at St Madoes as a emergency measure for the coming weeks.
A proposal for a temporary building on the edge of Errol was ditched last month due to concerns about its proximity to a busy road, however it is understood a planning application is about to be lodged with Perth and Kinross Council for a new site.
The news follows talk of a community buy-out of the current building, which local councillor Angus Forbes said was a great idea but impractical.
It is yet to be revealed where the new temporary surgery could be erected, but it would involve the same modular building as that previously proposed by the practice and developer Morris Leslie.
Mr Forbes said: “It is a very good proposal and I hope it will get the backing of the community and [council] planners.”
He attended a drop-in session on Tuesday evening in St Madoes to update patients on current arrangements and future plans, as the surgery continues to seek a permanent base.
Of the buyout, Mr Forbes said: “If the people of Errol bought the building they would have to make it fit-for-purpose, which at the moment it is not, and have the infrastructure in place to look after it, collect the rent, pay the bills.
“I don’t believe that there is anyone in Errol that would be prepared to take on the responsibility.”
Even if there was support for a buyout, he said, it may not be the preferred option of the doctors.
He added: “I think it’s a great idea and it shows how important it is to the people of Carse of Gowrie that they are willing to consider a buyout but in practical terms I think it’s just not going to happen.”
Perth and Kinross Social Care Partnership has said it continues to work with local GPs and NHS Tayside to ensure the future of GP services in the Carse of Gowrie and with the practice as it develops plans for permanent premises.
The practice previously said that over the last few years it had tried to secure alternative premises on a variety of sites and potential building conversions but all attempts had been unsuccessful “for one reason or another”.
