GP Practice: From chip shop to one-stop super surgery.

A new breed of super surgery is changing the landscape of primary care, writes Helen Gilbert.

GPs in South Yorkshire have struggled for years in run-down premises, with a former chip shop and converted house among the sub-standard buildings used to hold surgeries.

All of that changed when the DoH announced plans last year for a pounds 1 billion wave of super surgeries across England as part of its agenda to modernise primary care premises.

Considered a deprived area, Barnsley was selected as a candidate for one of the state-of-the-art centres, which comprise GPs, primary care teams, health visitors, social services and in some cases minor surgery suites. The aim was to offer patients health and social care services under one roof.

In January, three centres in Worsbrough, Goldthorpe and Thurnscoe were opened, thanks to Barnsley Comm-unity Solutions local improvement finance trust (LIFT).

The scheme is a public- private …