Long-awaited Shifnal and Priorslee Medical Practice set to open its doors to local community

The long-awaited purpose-built Shifnal and Priorslee Medical Practice will officially open on Monday 22 January 2024, say primary care leaders at NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

GPs and the extended healthcare team will formally open the doors to the building located on Haughton Road, Shifnal, and welcome the local community to the new, modern facility, giving the practice’s 12,000 patients access to more integrated health services.

The new Shifnal and Priorslee Medical Practice has been supported by NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and has attracted over £1.1m funding from NHS England. However, this amount was not sufficient to make the project financially viable and the practice has funded an extra £1m to secure the project and to ensure it would not collapse before it started.

Since receiving initial approval to proceed, the team working on the project has had to overcome several challenges including the covid pandemic, substantially increasing construction costs and rising interest rates, all of which have contributed to a significantly higher than anticipated final cost for the build. This saw the overall project cost increase by almost a further million pound resulting in a large funding gap.

However, despite challenges, the design of the building has not been compromised and the finished facility will be modern and fit for purpose, providing a more comfortable environment for both staff and patients alike. It will include 11 clinical rooms as well as a counselling room. The building is also future proof, enabling the practice to adapt and flex should future service development be needed.

Dr Kwok Yin Ian Chan, Clinical Director of the Teldoc Primary Care Network (PCN), said: “For years we have been looking to improve the cramped and outdated Shifnal Surgery for patients, so we are delighted to be able to move into a new purpose-built premises. The opening of the new practice will allow us to bring patient services back to Shifnal, following their relocation out of the town due to building issues at the previous property on Shrewsbury Road. We now look forward to welcoming our patients to their brand-new centre.”

Dr Rashpal Singh Bhachu, GP Partner at the Shifnal and Priorslee Medical Practice, said: “Completion of the new centre has been long anticipated by the local community, and has meant overcoming multiple challenges throughout the course of the project. However, there are still significant challenges to overcome, and we will need to remodel services in the most effective way to cover the estate funding gap in the long term.

“Having carefully navigated past these issues, it has meant that we now need to work effectively with our extended healthcare team to provide as many appointments as we can. We are pleased to have reached the finish line and are able to provide an environment in which we can proudly care for our patients and ensure services are reopened in the town.”