STAFF at Bewdley Medical Centre are celebrating after the surgery was praised for the support it gives family carers.

The centre was named runner-up in the HAS Carer Aware Awards, which are run by The Princess Royal Trust for Carers.

More than 80 GPs from across the country contested the awards, which are sponsored by HAS Group, and 10 were short-listed for runner-up awards.

Richard Gunn, practice manager at Bewdley, said: "We are very pleased to have our work with carers recognised at a national level.

"We see carer support as an important facet of the services we deliver."

It holds a carer support group meeting at the centre in Dog Lane on the first Wednesday of every month from 2pm until 3.30pm.

The trust is a national charity, which supports more than 180,000 carers across the UK through a network of carers' centres and interactive websites.

Carers' first point of contact is often through their GPs and the charity looks to them to let a person know they are a carer and that support is available for them.

For further information about the support group, contact 01299 402157 and for details about the trust, visit www.carers.org