A SUPER-SURGERY costing up to £1m has been given the go-ahead, the first of its type in the North-East.

Health officials are in final negotiations with developers before starting work on the project, which will be in Darlington town centre.

Expected to open its doors by next April, the three-storey Primary Care Centre will be home to 150 clinical and administrative staff. These will include doctors, district and school nurses, community dental service staff, child health development officers and trust office workers.

The centre aims to overcome existing problems caused by services being spread across the borough.

It will offer "walk-in, walk-out" treatment for a variety of conditions, including minor surgery, such as treatment for skin conditions and vasectomies. There will also be scope for expansion to include varicose veins and other specialist treatments.

It will also allow quick access to a doctor for patients unable to get on a GP's list.

Darlington Primary Care Trust (PCT) chief executive Colin Morris said: "This is particularly good news for people who need these services, as they will be readily available through the centre, rather than waiting for longer periods to see someone at hospital.

"We are expecting to get through 1,200 of these procedures a year, so it should have a positive impact on waiting lists. Complex procedures will still need to be done in hospital operating theatres.

"This is going to be the most significant primary care development we have ever had locally and enable people to access better quality services."

Trust chairman Sandra Pollard said: "I think it is really exciting and I am absolutely thrilled. There will be improved access to primary care in the centre of Darlington, which is precisely what the PCT was set up to do. I really like the idea of the clinical services, management and administration all being in the same building, rather than being separately located."

The site for the centre will be announced as soon as a contract has been signed with the developer, said Mr Morris.

The prospective site is said to be in the town centre, on bus routes and will have adequate parking.

PCTs nationally took the lead role in the NHS on April 1 and now manage 75 per cent of health care budgets, including commissioning in-patient hospital care.

Walk-in centres were an integral part of a Government health paper, Shifting the Balance of Power, written by health secretary and Darlington MP Alan Milburn.