RESIDENTS in the Tavistock area should be able to attend a brand new healthcare facility in the town by spring, according to doctors overseeing the project.

Work is well underway at the new Tavyside Health Centre, with completion expected by the end of March 2011. After two months' work the new building is starting to take shape on what was the old car park of Stannary Surgery.

The new centre is being built following the merger of Abbey Rise Surgery and Wharfside Surgery in the spring.

Dr Graham Johnson, spokesman for the partners at Tavyside, said: 'Excitement is definitely building as the completion date draws near and patients and staff alike have adapted with apparent ease to the inevitable disruption.

'We are very grateful for the tolerance from all patients, and for their understanding. 

'If existing or new patients would like any further information, they are more than welcome to visit Abbey Rise or Canal Road where detailed plans of how the new building will look and the facilities it will offer are currently on display within the waiting rooms.' 

Full GP services are continuing as normal at Abbey Rise and at the former Wharfside Surgery site in Canal Road, and behind the scenes plans are ongoing to deliver additional new services next year when the new health centre is opened.

Since the merger of the two surgeries, Tavyside has introduced some new services such as a wider range of in house minor surgery procedures and a broader range of travel vaccinations, saving patients a trip to the Travel Clinic in Plymouth.

When the new building opens, in house physiotherapy and counselling services will resume, and other services will roll out over the months following opening. 

Evening and weekend clinics are also being planned, not only for GP and out patient clinics, but also for non NHS services such as a specialist travel clinic.