Surgery commits to city centre (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Surgery commits to city centre

11:24am Tuesday 19th August 2008 in

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A SURGERY which has pledged to stay in central Winchester plans to expand its services.

The St Clements Partnership added that new patients would be welcome.

It comes after the nearby Friarsgate Surgery said it hoped to maintain a city centre presence, albeit smaller, after some users raised concerns about its impending relocation to Weeke.

Both existing surgeries face demolition in late 2009 as part of the £100m Silver Hill Renaissance.

The St Clements Partnership aims to remain as close to its current home in Tanner Street as possible.

The plans for its new centre are still being produced, but practice bosses have indicated what patients can expect.

The building is set to include a minor surgery suite to provide an alternative to going to hospital.

It already offers a few minor procedures at its current premises, such as vasectomies, but the new centre aims to provide a wider range of surgery.

The plans are also expected to feature an in-house pharmacy, and could also include a foot clinic along with dental services.

The practice added that ground floor consulting rooms would be provided to make life easier for those with limited mobility.

Senior partner, Dr Kim Roberts, said: "We have restated our desire to continue to practice from city centre premises for patients' easy access, especially those reliant on public transport.

"We have been involved in challenging negotiations over the past 10 years to bring this about and to ensure that the demolition of the practice-owned premises did not result in our removal out of the city centre."

Its neighbour, the Friarsgate Practice, plans to open a centre with expanded services at the Waitrose site in Weeke in September 2009.

Dr Nigel Sylvester, senior partner at Friarsgate, said last week that they also hoped to retain a city centre presence on a smaller scale. It comes after some patients raised concerns about reaching Weeke.

This week, Dr Roberts said: "St Clements surgery is committed to continuing to provide extremely high quality medical services in the city centre.

"These services will be available to all patients wishing to register with this practice, particularly those unable to travel out of the city for medical care."