Delayed paperwork by the NHS means a GP surgery will have to shut after the death of its leading doctor.

Myddleton Road Surgery in Bowes Park is set to close on November 2 due to delays by the NHS to draw up a new contract to authorise a new doctor.

The surgery, with 3,100 patients, had just one doctor, Dineshwar Prasad, who died of ill health on June 28.

Patients were left angry and confused about the closure as Haringey NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) had previously approved an application to recruit a GP and a practice manager to the surgery – this would have allowed it to continue operating after Dr Prasad, 76, died.

But the contract by the NHS to authorise a new GP failed to be delivered before the doctor’s death.

Haringey CCG terminated the new contract as the former leading doctor was not able to sign it, making the exchange for a new GP void.

Carla Francome, a member of the community-action group We Love Myddleton Road, is one of the many patients criticising the CCG for delays. She and others claim the NHS group knew about Dr Prasad’s terminal illness.

Ms Francome said: “I think it’s outrageous to close the clinic due to what is essentially an administrative error. All other surgeries nearby are filled, it’s hard now to get appointments.

“The idea that all these patients must squash into other clinics are ludicrous. I think they’re using the signature as an excuse.”

Catherine West, a Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, has taken an interest in these concerns and is having the NHS consult with the patients.

Ms West said: “Unfortunately, due to the nine years of austerity, the cuts of £4 billion to NHS budgets and Brexit, it was bound to happen to many places, it just happened to be this place first.”

“I don’t stand with the NHS in their decision. I’m giving people an opportunity to consult now.”

A CCG consultation meeting is being called by the MP so patients can ask about proposals for the surgery and what patients can do.

Ms West hopes to find out what will happen to the money that had been used to fund the surgery and the capital spend of the building.

Haringey CCG claimed that due to the small number of patients and the “inadequacy” of the small premises, patients would be best suited to visiting the other ten practices within a one-mile radius of Myddleton Road, and 40 other practices within a two-mile radius.

A Haringey CCG spokesperson said: “As Dr Prasad was the sole contract holder at the time of his death, it therefore meant that the contract automatically terminated. The termination of a contract in this circumstance is a legal stipulation in line with national primary care regulations; it was not a decision that the CCG made or could influence.

“Our aspiration for primary care is that everyone in Haringey has easy access to a range of high-quality primary care services, provided in modern, fit for purpose buildings.”

The consultation event will be held on Thursday (August 22) at 4pm at the community centre Spark / 99, N22 8NE.