A NEW walk-in health centre, open 365 days a year at Basingstoke hospital, has been officially opened by GMTV’s Dr Hilary Jones.

Hampshire Healthcare Centre has already had nearly 3,000 patients through the doors since it opened in December, and the doctors who set it up are expecting around 14,000 more throughout the next year as more people become aware of the new facilities.

The centre offers extended access to GPs and dentists, where patients can walk in at any time between 8am and 8pm without having to book an appointment.

Dr Jones, who also works at BMI The Hampshire Clinic in Old Basing, cut the ribbon and officially declared the facilities open in front of an audience that included Mary Edwards, chief executive of Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust, and Basingstoke MP Maria Miller.

Dr Jones said: “Local people are already blessed with a wonderful service from the North Hampshire Hospital and now they can enjoy a similar experience in family medicine in a setting differing from the requirements of the accident and emergency environment.”

The centre is run on behalf of NHS Hampshire by Assura Hampshire Health – a partnership of 13 local GP practices, and healthcare provider Assura Medical Limited.

Dr Tania Phillips, a local GP and chairman of Assura Hampshire Health, said the centre would benefit commuters and those living in the town.

She added: “It offers the flexibility to plan an appointment around prior commitments. Appointments are available on the same day as a “walk-in” with a minimum waiting time, as well as it being possible to pre-book appointments with either a GP, nurse or the dentist. Patients do not have to be registered with the centre to be seen.”

Targets have been set to keep the waiting time down to 15 minutes.

Dr Niall Ferguson, of NHS Hampshire, said Basingstoke had been chosen as the location for the centre because of its growing population and large number of commuters.

He added: “If I’m ever away from home, I wonder what to do to get seen by a doctor. Would you go to casualty or a local GP? And despite many messages from the health service, people still find it a difficult decision to make.

“This centre offers patients a more appropriate place than A&E for the assessment and treatment of minor problems, but it’s sited close to A&E so the person with the most appropriate skills can deal with their problem.”