BRAINTREE’S biggest doctors surgery is set to move to new £1.8m purpose-built premises.

St Lawrence Medical Practice, on Bocking End, will close on March 17, with the new surgery opening on the campus of The College at Braintree, on Church Lane, as of March 20.

To coincide with the move, the practice, which has more than 13,000 registered patients, is changing its name to Church Lane Surgery.

All registered patients should receive a letter informing them of the healthcare options available to them going forward.

The surgery managed to secure the new premises thanks to £1.8m investment from Braintree Council.

Graham Butland, leader of Braintree Council, said: “Our councillors get more emails from residents worried about their access to healthcare than any other subject, so I’m really proud that we, as a district council, have invested in this important community facility.

“Investing in much-needed healthcare facilities solves a crucial local problem while creating a return on investment, which means we can then reinvest in other projects that benefit our residents.

“We invested £1.8m in this move, but more importantly our residents will soon have a much more patient-friendly surgery, which we hope will also attract new doctors.”

The council are hopeful that the more patient-friendly surgery will attract new permanent doctors to the centre.

Simon Evans, Locality Director for NHS England said: “The size and location of the new fit-for-purpose building means that there is car parking available for patients and the new building is big enough to allow for the projected population growth of patients to Braintree.

“NHS England is working closely with Virgin Care to make the transition for patients to the new premises as smooth as possible.”

The surgery’s services will continue to be delivered by Virgin Care, which was awarded a ten-year contact starting in June 2016.

Nigel Sweeney, senior service manager for Virgin Care said: “We are incredibly pleased by the opportunity these fantastic new premises provided for us to improve patients’ experience and to be able to continue to meet the increasing demand for high quality healthcare services in Braintree over the coming years.”

The community transport team will be at the Bocking End surgery between March 6 and March 10 to provide advice about getting to the new surgery.

Visit www.stlawrencesurgery.co.uk.