A DECADE’S work to bring the Gwrych Medical Centre to life was celebrated in style at the opening ceremony.
Assembly Health Minister Edwina Hart praised all involved in fighting for the new surgery before unveiling a plaque to finally signal the end of the fight to see the lavish medical practice created on North Wales Business Park.
Dignitaries including Clwyd West AM Darren Millar, representatives of the Abergele Surgery Action Group, designers Primary Asset and members of Abergele Town Council and Conwy County Council gathered at the surgery to celebrate a landmark day in the town’s history. A time capsule containing items selected by residents of Abergele was buried during the celebrations.
Ms Hart believes the town’s tenacity has played an instrumental role in ensuring the move from the outdated previous Abergele Surgery on Kinmel Avenue went ahead.
She told the Journal: “I am delighted by what I have seen today. This new surgery offers enhanced services as well as providing training facilities for future healthcare professionals and is an excellent example a new primary healthcare venue.
“I spoke to members of the Abergele Surgery Action Group and hearing the stories of people from the town made it clear how important it was to them Abergele had a new surgery. Dr Jeremy Honeybun from the surgery and Darren Millar have also been very influential as well as others.
“I made a promise this surgery would happen and it is excellent to see the quality of it.”
The new centre, which has been in operation since late January, provides six GPs to care for almost 15,000 residents from both Abergele and nearby communities such as Towyn and Bodelwyddan.
Staff from the surgery and members of the Abergele Surgery Action Group faced a long fight to help bring the new surgery to fruition as concerns continued to grow at the limited facilities available in Kinmel Avenue, before Ms Hart performed the turf-cutting ceremony last January.
Paula Lamont, practice manager, revealed the benefits the surgery staff have enjoyed since they moved into the new premises last month.
She said: “We are ecstatic at getting to this stage and it is a lot easier to work here. It is also better for patients as they can now get through to our dedicated call centre.
“It is clear that many people want to be patients here. We have had 300 new patients joining us in the past three weeks.”