A GP surgery in Daubhill was visited by high court sheriffs this week, in an attempt to claim £331,000 owed after three employees were unfairly dismissed.

Courts ordered the money to be paid after Dr Shaista Hanif fired three members of staff from the Shanti Medical Centre, in St Helens Road, after they raised concerns about her to the General Medical Council.

An employment tribunal awarded the trio compensation and bailiffs claimed the money on Tuesday from the partnership which previously ran the centre.

The practice has since been rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the partnership, between Dr Hanif and Dr Anant Prasad, was dissolved following a High Court ruling.

Management of the surgery is now under the control of Bolton GP Federation, which says it is looking to stabilise the centre and is currently employing both Dr Hanif and Dr Prasad as locum doctors.

The money initially stood at around £150,000 but has been driven up due to interest owed.

Dr Prasad, who owns the medical centre, said he agreed to pay part of the money.

He added: “The collector came and said he had been sending emails for months asking for the money to be paid. He said, the law is the law.

“I told Dr Hanif, the law has proved you wrong and you have to pay.”

He added: “I think patient services are suffering. The partnership has been dissolved.

“I applied to the high court to have the partnership dissolved. I have been involved in so much mediation.”

Dr Hanif said: “I’m not going to get involved in any criticism. It should suffice to say that many of the issues relating to the former partnership remain the subject of ongoing legal discussions.

“I’m working really hard with the federation who have been fantastic. It’s a period of great change for our patients but we are hoping to make things more stable.”

The three whistleblowers who spoke out against Dr Hanif alleged that she had breached patient confidentiality, failed to properly record consultations and refused to visit elderly patients, among other issues.

Shanti Medical Centre was given an “inadequate” rating in June, in the latest of a string of reports from the CQC, and is now in special measures.

The practice was told last year to improve many of its safety procedures after it presented the CQC with a list of more than 28 serious incidents over 12 months, including one with the the potential for a serious or even fatal repercussions.

It has been served with three warning notices and the latest focused inspection looked at the safety of the practice, before the partnership was dissolved.

NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was responsible for ensuring patient care would continue in the area after the partnership between Dr Hanif and Dr Prasad broke down.

In a statement, a spokesman for the CCG said: “The partnership between Dr Prasad and Dr Hanif was dissolved by the High Court, and on this basis the CCG ceased to hold a contract with either GP. The contract was not terminated as a result of the CQC report.

“Our priority at NHS Bolton CCG remains to ensure continuity of care for those people registered with the practice. The neighbouring practices would struggle to be able to meet the demands of a heavily increased patient list at such short notice if patients were sent to them.

“We approached the Bolton GP Federation to step in on an interim basis and provide services at the Shanti Medical Centre with extremely little notice. They have done so utilising locum GPs and are working hard to ensure that patients have access to the care they need.

“It is important to note that Dr Prasad and Dr Hanif remain practicing GPs and as such are able to practice anywhere in the country they wish to do so.”

A spokesman for the GP Federation added: “The partnership was dissolved and, therefore, there is no contract with the CCG.

“We took over the running of the practice last Thursday and we are looking to do what we can to stabilise the surgery in the long-term.”

The GMC case was closed with no action taken.