A BIRTHDAY party has been held at Alcester Health Centre to mark a year since it moved to its new premises at Fields Park Drive.

The state-of-the-art building officially opened in April last year, replacing the former hospital on Priory Road which closed in 2010.

Doctor Andrew Wallis said he couldn't believe how fast the year had gone.

"The whole team has pulled together and worked really hard in the last year. We are really proud of what we've built and are grateful to patients for their support. We hope they will use the surgery for many more years to come," he said.

New facilities available to patients at the centre include a new doctor appointment system, an up-to-date website, enabling patients to order repeat prescriptions and make doctors appointments, a new blood pressure machine in the waiting room and a number of external practitioners, including a psychologist and chiropractor, available to be seen on-site.

The building also has its own pharmacy and a recent patient survey revealed an improvement in satisfaction levels and waiting times for visitors.

"We have more consultants here and can carry out some minor surgeries on site, which means fewer people have to travel further to hospital. In future we hope to offer more to patients such as ENT and orthopaedic services," added Dr Wallis.

"Our patients are really happy with the care provided and I have a fantastic team of staff working for me who provide excellent patient care that I'm very proud of."

He also thanked the support received from Alcester Town Council and South Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

To mark the occasion a party took place with refreshments provided by local tea rooms Orangemabel and a raffle held in which winners walked away with free goodies from local restaurants Number 50 and The Lord Nelson as well as greengrocer Five A Day.