THOUSANDS of pounds are to be spent to improve a town centre doctor's surgery.

The money from the Primary Care Trust (PCT) will improve the premises at the Park Place health centre, in Darlington.

Last year, Dr John Hopkins and Dr Elaine Moore said they would leave the centre, although Dr Hopkins, who had criticised the condition of the premises, later withdrew his resignation.

Dr Moore's practice was taken over by Dr Caroline Lennox at the start of the year and she moved to another surgery in the town.

The PCT has allocated between £270,000 and £280,000 to spend at the Park Place centre to improve conditions and facilities.

The money will be used to enhance the surgery building and to increase security for both staff and patients in the health centre.

It had also been suggested that the money could be used to turn part of the centre into a walk-in surgery.

The surgery would be open to treat patients who needed small operations such as the removal of moles and the treatment of some cancers, without having to go into hospital.

Chief executive of the PCT, Colin Morris said: "There are material improvements that can be made at the surgery but also there are some groups of people who are often denied access to see a doctor, such as those in the travelling community.

"Some of this money could be used to make it easier for those people, who do not have easy access to a doctor, to seek treatment."

Mr Morris said the money allocated for Park Place health centre would have to be spent by the end of this financial year, so decisions on what would be done would be made quickly.

Any improvements to the centre are in addition to money announced last week as part of a three-year £90m investment in health care in the region and a £2.3m NHS investment in one-stop health centres.

The centres would provide access to a range of primary health care professionals under one roof.