New £1 million medical practice in Shropshire to open next month
A north Shropshire village's £1 million new medical practice will open by the end of February, health chiefs have confirmed.
The surgery in Prees, near Whitchurch, is being kitted out with fixtures and fittings before the building is handed over to doctors.
It is hoped the new practice will cater for double the number of patients, lead to an increase in jobs, and provide extra capacity to train doctors.
Work had been due to finish this month, but Dr Jim Bartlett of Wem and Prees Medical Practice said it was hoped the new practice would be ready within weeks. The new building will replace the existing surgery on Shrewsbury Street, based at the home of Dr Guy Carter, who has retired.
The new surgery will have its own car park. There will be four GP consultation rooms, a nurse consultation room, treatment rooms, a dispensary, patients' waiting space and offices.
The construction has been funded by the Grocott Family Charitable Trust, set up by the owners of Whitchurch-based Grocontinental. The trust will lease the new building to the practice at a nominal rent for the next 15 years.
Dr Bartlett said: "The building is looking fantastic. The roof is on now and the windows have been fitted. The electrics have also been finished now. We are hoping to be in by the end of February. It is just the internal fixtures and fittings to go now."
He added: "Hopefully we will be able to provide training for junior doctors.
"We will be able to treat double the amount of patients that we have currently. We are hopefully employing some new members of staff. The dispensary is going to be bigger and more efficient. We should be increasing our turnaround for the public.
"We will also have a small room for minor operations such as injections and taking small lumps and bumps off. This is a facility we did not have before.
"The practice is a fantastic facility for the village and we are looking forward to moving into it."
