BUILDING work on Upton's £5.2million new medical centre at Tunnel Hill will begin by mid-March.

GP George Wilson believes it will be open by the middle of 2007, bringing the town's healthcare provision into the 21st Century.

Dr Wilson said both doctors and patients would benefit as a result of moving from the current surgery in School Lane, when the 50-60 week build is complete.

"This was a fine surgery for the medicine of the 70s and 80s but not for the modern healthcare environment," he said.

"Most of the patients are desperate for the new surgery to happen. It will provide a 21st Century service for the Upton community."

Plans for a new surgery were announced four years ago, but the project has suffered planning and funding delays.

However, Dr Wilson said everything was now in place and all that remained was for the building contracts to be signed.

"It's disappointing that we've been unable to start before now but I'll be delighted to get under way," he said.

With seven doctors and five nurses housed there, Dr Wilson said the existing surgery had simply become too cramped.

"Since the building opened in 1967 we've doubled our patients and now we're literally bursting at the seams," he said.

"The nurses share just two rooms and it's impossible to get the best out of everybody in these conditions."

The new state-of-the-art surgery will provide individual consulting rooms and also house dentists, physiotherapists, social services and district nurses.

Dr Wilson said this would be a major benefit to patients and he had no concerns it would suffer from a similar lack of space.

"It's more than big enough for the foreseeable future and has been designed so we can build up and around it if necessary," he said.

"Everything will be under one roof and patients will benefit from better facilities and will have access to better healthcare."