A BOLTON GP has quit his surgery through pressure of the the job and has taken retirement on the grounds of ill-health.

Dr Rabindranath Mukherjee left his Wigan Road surgery in late August after eight years at the helm - and struck himself off from the General Medical Council.

The GP gave Wigan and Bolton Health Authority just 24-hours notice of his intentions leaving them with a mad dash to find a replacement doctor for the surgery.

Patients at Dr Mukherjee's surgery have been treated by a locum GP since his departure.

The Health Authority says that from tomorrow the surgery will move to the nearby Deane Clinic but the authority will continue to advertise for a replacement doctor.

One patient told the BEN that they had noticed that Dr Mukherjee had been suffering ill-health.

"We have had the letter to say he will no longer be at the surgery but we don't know any more than that," the patient said. "But we thought it was because he was ill. The last time we saw him he did not look well."

Staff at the surgery confirmed he had gone adding that they had not seen him since he left.

Dr Mukherjee, who built the surgery up over eight years, blamed his decision on his health and the "pressure of the job".

A spokesman for the General Medical Council said that Dr Mukherjee had gone through the "voluntary erasure" procedure which removed his name from the list of practising GPs in the UK.

"I know the patients will miss me but I just had to go," Dr Mukherjee told the BEN. "My health was beginning to suffer because of the pressure of the job. There is no problem other than that I have simply retired."

A spokesman for Wigan and Bolton Health Authority said: "We have acted quickly and positively to appoint a locum GP at the practice to ensure that patients are still able to have access to all necessary general medical services."

An Authority spokesman said: "Surgery opening times will remain unchanged and these arrangements will continue until the matter of the practice vacancy is filled."

The Health Authority add that former patients of Dr Mukherjee can contact the new surgery on 01204 64089.