A DOCTORS' surgery which is moving out of the city centre next year is now on the lookout for an additional place in central Winchester, bosses have announced.

The Friarsgate Practice will vacate its city practice next September, and move to a new purpose- built centre at the new Waitrose site in Weeke.

The decision to look for a city centre spot comes after some patients raised concerns about reaching the new surgery to the north west ofWinchester.

The practice has also revealed that services at its smaller surgeries in Badger Farm and Kings Worthy will be expanded to offer more choice to the 21,000 patients on its books.

Of those, doctors estimate that 60 per cent currently use the main surgery at the Friarsgate Medical Centre in the middle of Winchester.

Before announcing the move to the suburb, the practice consulted patients.

As a result, the practice is now seeing if it can maintain a presence on a smaller scale in the city centre.

Senior partner, Dr Nigel Sylvester, said negotiations were at an early stage, but they were already looking at several properties.

He said: "Rents in the city are very high though, so it would only be a small facility, and I don't want to raise people's hopes if we can't pull this off as we're working with a tight budget."

He added that the number of doctors at the proposed central surgery and the services available would depend on the property's size.

If accommodation can be found at the right price, it would open at roughly the same time as the existing surgery closed, he said.

He added that the facility might prove popular with patients in Winnall, who do not have a direct bus toWeeke.

The proposed main surgery beside Waitrose is set to offer consulting rooms for doctors, nurses and counsellors, along with a room for minor surgery, said Dr Sylvester.

He added that plenty of parking was another plus point, as the current facility in Friarsgate has none.

Dr Sylvester also confirmed that the surgery in Kings Worthy would now open in the afternoons, as well as the mornings, to offer patients more choice.

They would also ensure that at least two doctors were based at Badger Farm every weekday from 8am to 6pm, he said.

Last week Kate Luker, practice manager, speaking of the relocation to Weeke, said: "This exciting opportunity will enable us to provide an expanded range of services in a modern, patient-centred environment.

"Having undertaken a considerable amount of research, the location at Weeke was deemed to be the most suitable due to its on-site parking and scope for patient facilities."