Westport GP to close leaving hundreds of Mayo patients in limbo

In news breaking this Tuesday afternoon, a well known General Practice in Westport is due to close from the end of November, leaving an estimated 600 patients without a doctor.

Dr Ita Mullaghy messaged her private patients last week to inform them that “the surgery is being sold by the owners and I have been left with no other option but to resign as your GP from November 30, 2026. Please contact the surgery before November 27 to arrange transfer of your medical records to your new GP.”

The Mayo News understands that all patients without a medical card have been contacted by text and now face the arduous task of finding a new GP locally.

Patients with a medical card have not been contacted and will be reassigned a doctor in due course.

It was business as usual at the medical practice on The Mall this afternoon as patients arrived to get vaccines.

"Like a bolt out of the blue"

Patients of the practice have spoken of their shock and distress after being told it is to close, with many now unsure where to turn for medical care.

Patients received a message last week informing them of the closure. Those affected say they fear being left without a GP in a town where places with other practices are hard to come by.

JP Scott, a long-term patient of the medical practice, said the news came as a complete surprise.

"I can't believe it. You know, it's like a ball out of the blue, really," he told The Mayo News. "So now you hear all those stories about people unable to find another GP when no GP available. So I don't know, really."

The Aughagower man said he has yet to begin looking for a new doctor. "It's ahead of me this week," he said. "No, I haven't had time. No, it's just trying to get my thoughts on it and see exactly what's available."

He has attended the practice for decades and has never been to another GP in the town. "I've been going here since way back in the day when the previous Dr Des Kelly came to town first, yeah, which is a good while ago."

"Extremely difficult" to register elsewhere

Siobhan Mc Donnell, a mother of three, has been a patient of the doctor for more than 16 years, since she first came to Westport. She said she was "extremely saddened and upset" to hear of the closure.

"Throughout all those years she has been absolutely amazing," she said. "She always went above and beyond for her patients. She is kind, caring and considerate, and she has a wonderful way of making a visit to the doctor feel as easy and comfortable as possible."

Ms Mc Donnell said continuity of care is particularly important for families. "As a mother of three children, having a GP whom you know and trust, and who knows your family and medical history, is incredibly important."

She said her first thought on receiving the message was for the doctor herself. "I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to send that message to all of her patients, knowing the worry and uncertainty it would cause," she said. "I understand that her phone has been ringing constantly since, with patients desperately trying to find out what they are supposed to do and where they are supposed to go."

Records transfer in limbo

Ms Mc Donnell said the biggest obstacle is finding another practice willing to take on new patients.

"The reality is that it is extremely difficult to get accepted into another GP practice in Westport, particularly when you have children and need the reassurance of knowing that medical care is available when your family needs it."

She said she has not yet asked the practice to transfer her family's medical records because she has not found a new GP. "Where are those records supposed to be transferred to when families cannot find a doctor willing or able to accept new patients?"

Calls for answers

Ms Mc Donnell said the closure is far more than the loss of a local business. "This is not simply the loss of a local business or service; it is the loss of essential medical care and of a trusted doctor-patient relationship that, for many of us, has been built over many years."

She added that she is "deeply grateful" to her doctor for the care shown to her family, and said her "heart genuinely goes out to her at what must be an incredibly difficult time."

She called on those responsible for healthcare provision to act. "I also hope that those responsible for healthcare provision will recognise the seriousness of what is happening in Westport and provide some answers and, most importantly, a solution for the patients and families who currently have nowhere else to go."

Political reaction

Aontú TD Paul Lawless raised the issue in the Dáil earlier today (Tuesday) and has called on the Minister for Health to intervene in this case.

Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy Lawless said: “Minister, a GP practice in Westport is closing. The landlord is selling the building, the doctor has nowhere to go. The GP is currently working the notice period with the HSE. The HSE says there’s no room to accommodate the GP in the Primary Care Centre. What Westport needs to hear is whether this Government will make room for a doctor. The GP is effectively working the notice period. The Government should be taking notice”

Deputy Lawless continued: “The Government parties can find €2 million of tax-payers money to refurbish a meeting room in Mayo County Council to give Councillors an extravagant chamber in which to discuss public services, yet the HSE cannot find a single room for a GP to provide one. In one location we’re getting a new meeting room for politicians and a few miles down the road over six hundred public patients and hundreds more private patients are getting a farewell letter. Is this the Government’s idea of putting people first?

“Minister, Westport has a GP who wants to stay and it has patients who need the GP practice.

“When other pressures arise, the Government can find accommodation at remarkable speed. Why, then, can it not find a place for this doctor to practice before hundreds of Westport patients lose access to her care?”, concluded Lawless.

In response to Deputy Lawless, the Minister said she was not aware of the issue, which Lawless said is “unacceptable, given the serious number of patients being displaced”.