Sources close to the centre, which closed abruptly last week, said at least some of the six doctors were "aiming to provide local services to patients as soon as practical".

The Herald understands that only one of the former centre's doctors had taken up the offer from Primary Health Care to work at its Charlestown clinic.

The source said that four female, part-time, doctors who had worked at the Lambton centre were not under contract to continue working for Primary Health Care.

Neither were those doctors barred by contracts from starting their own practices in Lambton.

"We don't know when it will be - but as soon as it's viable - the doctors are keen to [provide services]," the source said.

"The doctors understand patients in Lambton are not very mobile and that Charlestown is too far for them."

Newcastle Federal MP Sharon Grierson said yesterday she "condemned" Primary Health Care's closure of the centre and its treatment of patient files.

"I have had complaints today from patients and their family members that they are not allowed to have their medical files, that if they want them they will have to see another GP and ask them to fax a request for the records," she said.

"If thousands of patients go and do that it will be a huge burden on our system, especially over the Easter period.

"Technically, the Privacy Act says people can access their own records and I think Primary Health Care should make them available.

"I think they have a moral obligation to do so and I think they are jeopardising people's health care [if they don't]."

Primary Health Care did not respond to calls for comment yesterday.

It has emerged that Primary Health Care had closed at least two suburban medical centres in Canberra at short notice, one in 2008 the other in 2009, before new laws were introduced forcing owners to give at least four weeks notice before closing, merging or moving clinics.

Head of Primary Health Care Dr Edmund Bateman defended his decision to close the two medical centres in Canberra's south to a Legislative Assembly inquiry into the role of pharmacists in August last year.

"As a result of going into that I've been vilified personally by the AMA [Australian Medical Association], by the president of the AMA, by the medical press, by the Murdoch press, by the Fairfax press and to some extent by you," he said.

"Basically because of a misunderstanding of where you are and what you're doing or a misconception about how could this work."