New Shifnal GP surgery close to completion

The new surgery will be on Haughton Road in Shifnal

Construction of a new GP surgery is due to be completed in the next few weeks, promising increased capacity and extended opening hours.

The building in Shifnal, Shropshire, will replace an ageing surgery elsewhere in the town, which NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin described as "cramped and outdated".

That building has been closed since Storm Babet hit at the end of October.

The NHS said the old surgery will remain closed until "further notice".

Patients have instead been directed to its sister practice in nearby Priorslee, on the other side of the M54.

The NHS has not said what damage was caused during the storm, or whether the old surgery will be able to reopen before services transfer to the new building.

The current surgery has been closed since Storm Babet at the end of October

Planning approval for the new surgery was granted in December 2021, but the final funding was not secured until April 2022.

When the application was made, the health service said the new surgery was necessary to serve the town's growing population.

The building will not have a pharmacy, but the NHS said it could be "expanded or extended for future service development".

Claire Parker, Director of Partnerships and Place for NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, said earlier this year: "For years, we have been looking to improve the current cramped and outdated Shifnal Surgery in order to improve patient services."

She said the opening of the new surgery would be "an important development for the local community".