A NEW multi-million-pound medical centre has been officially opened in a North East village.
Middleton & Dinsdale Medical Practice, in Middleton St George, replaces the village’s previous GP surgery, St George’s Medical Practice, a temporary facility on the same site.
Dr Patrick Holmes, who has been a GP in the village for more than 25 years, said: “I want to thank everyone who made this happen and came today to celebrate our official opening. I’m reminded that in Middleton St George, our patients are not just patients, but also our friends and neighbours, and this is the best thing about our practice.
“We often see people at the most difficult times of their lives, so having a modern and comfortable place to come to is really important.
“I’d like to thank our amazing practice manager, Liz Stewart, for her wonderful leadership throughout this project. She really put her heart and soul into it. She’s been with us for 23 years, and what a legacy this new building is for her.
“To all our staff, thank you for trusting us and sticking with us.”
He also paid tribute to retired councillor, Doris Jones, who was instrumental in helping make the new build a reality, and to the partners and staff involved with construction.
In recognition of her contributions, Mrs Jones was invited to help plant a juneberry sapling in the grounds.
“We want to connect with people, and we want to look after them, and now we have the space and capacity for patients who are not already registered with another GP Practice in the town to join us. It’s a bit of a new dawn for us.”
The new practice, which cost £2 million to build, includes facilities and features such as:
- A modern, air-conditioned patient waiting area
- Eight purpose-built consulting rooms
- A dedicated private room for patients wanting to speak confidentially to a receptionist or other member of staff
- A spacious disabled wet room with toilet, shower, and baby-changing facilities
- No-touch door releases throughout to limit spread of infection
- Ample car parking for patients and staff
- We tried Darlington's newest fish and chip shop - here's what we thought
- Dogs Trust Darlington: 7 adorable pooches that you can adopt today
- Two people released from hospital as investigation into cheese factory explosion
The new setting met with approval from patients. Rosalind Berzon, who moved to the village just 18-months ago, said: “I really like how you can see the trees and nature from the windows, and the beautiful wildflowers out the front.
“I recently became a mental health volunteer because I think it’s a wonderful practice and I wanted to give something back.
"It’s very different from living down south, I made a good choice moving up here.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here