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Work begins on larger centre

Saturday 7 May 2011, 8:40AM

By Southland District Council

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WINTON

Winton Medical Centre will be soon welcoming patients into its newly enlarged premises, providing more space for health professionals to effectively look after the local community’s medical needs, as a result of a partnership between the Medical Centre’s Community Trust and Winton Community Board. 

Expansion of the surgery was identified as a necessary undertaking when the project was initially proposed nearly three years ago, as it will supply nurses and other medical professionals who engage in consultation work with additional private rooms in the building which is owned by Southland District Council.

A Community Trust was established, made up of the majority shareholders at the Medical Centre, to head the expansion and the Trust will work alongside Winton Community Board to ensure that the extension of the building will be carried out efficiently.

The project is a two-stage process that firstly focussed on the relocation of Plunket, which occupied a portion of the Medical Centre building, to a newly constructed building in Winton.

The second part of the joint venture that is underway involves the revision and upgrade of the Medical Centre building to include the new extra space vacated by Plunket.

Pharmacist of Winton Pharmacy and Chairman of the Trust’s Directors, Geoff Carleton, described the work of the Community Trust as “a good use of public money to provide better services and a better environment for the public”.

Winton Community Board Chairman John McHugh said he is sure the staff will welcome the additional space and improved working conditions.

“The community will appreciate a lot more privacy. The practice has really out grown the building over the last thirty plus years.”

The enlargement project is funded by aggregated profits made by Winton Medical Centre throughout the last 10 years and over a third of funding has come directly from Winton Community Board.