NHS England has said it is searching for the 'best possible outcome' for North Tawton's healthcare provision amid worrying uncertainty over its future.

Wallingbrook Health Group, which holds the contract for North Tawton Medical Practice, has informed NHS England of its decision to terminate its contract on March 31, 2015 due to insufficient funding from the NHS to run a safe and efficient practice.

Karen Acott, executive partner of Wallingbrook Health Group, said the decision was 'heartbreaking'.

Services will continue as they are up until March 31. After this date, NHS England will be legally responsible for ensuring continuity and provision of medical services to patients previously registered under the terminated contract. How exactly that will be achieved is yet to be decided.

The announcement has raised a genuine fear in the town that it could be left with no healthcare provision, and patients will need to travel to practices in nearby towns or villages to see a doctor.

There are also fears that a closure of the practice could have other profound effects on the town, like a reduction in house prices, and a drop in footfall in the town.

A spokesperson for NHS England (Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly) said: 'We can confirm that the Wallingbrook Health Group has given notice of its intention to end its contract for providing primary care support to the people of North Tawton on March 31, 2015.

'NHS England will be working with the practice over coming months to ensure continuity of care for patients. It will also be working more widely with local people and organisations to secure the best possible outcome for the community.

'We realise that some people might find the next six months unsettling. However, this is also an opportunity to look at improvements to primary care in the North Tawton area for the longer term.'

As a first step, Caroline Stead from NHS England met with town councillors and representatives of the practice's Patient Participation Group (PPG)?on October 9 to discuss the practice's future.

At the meeting, it was decided that councillors and PPG members would form the North Tawton Engagement Group, a focus group focused on the future of the practice and a smooth transition to a new provider.

Bill Dean, the group's chairman, said: 'Caroline Stead from NHS England was optimistic that NHS England could find a replacement provider. However, she felt that six months was too short a period of time to bed in a new provider and hand over services efficiently.

'There is hope that someone — for example, Wallingbrook Health Group — could carry on providing the service in the short-term while the new provider is bedded in.

'We were also told that there is no further funding available. So any service run in the future would have to be run on the present budget.

'I am feeling slightly more optimistic about things following the meeting, but there is still a real need for caution. We need to fight for our service and show that the town of North Tawton has not just the desire but a real need for its practice.

'What we need is a practice in the town, within walking distance of the town centre. With new housing developments here, that is absolutely crucial.'

The situation has raised such concern that the town's MP, Central Devon representative Mel Stride has criticised NHS England's handling of the issue, and has written a letter to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and to Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, stressing the need for action.

Mr Stride said: 'I am fighting flat out to ensure we retain a full GP service in North Tawton. Local residents need it and the excellent local pharmacy also depends upon the business it generates. I urge all local residents to engage fully in the consultation and to make sure that their voices are heard.

'I am also concerned that the consultation will not have been completed before the current contract is terminated so I have written to NHS England asking it to confirm that a local service will be fully provided for the duration of the consultation period.'