The axe is hanging over three GP practices in Dudley, Gornal and Wordsley in a drive by doctors to cut costs and centralise services.

GPs at the Lower Gornal Medical Practice are consulting patients about plans to close their Masefield Road branch, blaming a cut in their budget.

The partners at Wordsley Green Surgery aim to shut their Market Street branch, saying the building "does not lend itself to the provision of modern day general practice services" and Dr Devanna Manivasagam is poised to merge the St Thomas Medical Centre and Bean Medical Practice in Dudley.

Following the closure of the St Thomas Network, Dudley Council is now the landlord of the St Thomas Medical Centre and, due to uncertainty about the future of the site, a long term lease cannot be offered, says Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group.

As a result, Dr Manivasagam plans to move the St Thomas practice from December 18 to the existing surgery about a mile away in Bean Road, where a wider range of services could be offered to a total of 3,500 patients.

Gornal Councillor Anne Millward, herself a patient at the Lower Gornal practice's main branch in Bull Street, said two local people had contacted her because they were worried about the loss of the Masefield Road surgery but the smaller branch was "not financially viable".

Kingswinford South Councillor Patrick Harley said he had received no complaints about the proposed closure of the Market Street surgery.

"I can't see that the doctors there have got any alternative - the lease on the Market Street building is coming to an end and, without major investment, it would not be fit for purpose for 21st century healthcare," he added.

Patients of the Wordsley Green practice have until December 29 to respond to a consultation about the move and those at Lower Gornal have until December 31 to respond.

A letter to patients from the Lower Gornal surgery says the practice budget has been "substantially reduced" due to changes in the doctors' contract, putting them under "financial pressure".