A DOCTOR claimed GPs were in crisis as he marked his retirement by blasting 'interfering' governments.

Dr John Bidwell, 51, has left Darwen Health Centre after spending the whole of his 27 year career there.

No-one is replacing him, so almost 2,000 patients are being transferred to Dr Ibrahim Dara, who already has 1,500 on his books at Darwen's Perry Street practice.

Dr Bidwell claimed that Darwen was now three short of its full quota of 15 doctors.

He said it was symptomatic that he had not been replaced and warned that doctors were being put under enormous pressure, with many choosing to leave general practice.

In July this year Blackburn with Darwen Primary Care Trust (PCT) was rated below-average for access to a GP.

Vivien Aspey, chief executive, put this down to the high number of vacancies for GPs in the borough.

East Lancashire has trouble recruiting GPs because of its high sickness rates, associated with low standards of living, and poor pay. Health bosses have already introduced a number of schemes in a bid to attract more GPs to the area.

Dr Bidwell said: "The problems started in 1990 by Kenneth Clarke and successive governments have messed about and messed about and it makes the job difficult to do.

"Basically, to meet various targets, we are being asked to do more and more things in the same space and with the same resources we have always had. We are being stretched in all sorts of directions.

"The government has to know that GPs know how to run GPs surgeries for the best of the patients. Governments don't know how GPs work. They don't understand the pressures and demands and have no idea how to get the best out of it.

"Governments have to be seen to be fiddling or doing something positive. We are beginning to see quite a serious crisis but it's being denied by government."

Dr Bidwell said that, although he was going to work part-time as a locum in the Darwen area, he was glad to be getting out of the health service full time.

He said: "There is less time to do the job and that has implications for patients. We are having increasing difficulties meeting the general demands of patients.

"GPs are getting scarcer, so those of us that are left are having to work harder and harder just to meet the demand.

"We have a lot more patients than we want now and it's very difficult to draw the line and so I don't want any more.

"With me going they are three doctors short in Darwen and this is putting a lot of pressure on those who have to pick up the work load.

"It's not ideal to have 3,500 patients -- the average in the country is 1,900."