Sixteen doctors’ surgeries in Somerset will be able to expand and provide more appointments to local patients following a cash injection from central government.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced on Tuesday morning (May 6) that it would be sharing more than £102m across more than 1,000 GP practices across the UK, allowing the practices to expand.

This bricks and mortar investment will help the NHS to deliver an extra 8.3 million appointments each year, improving the service being offered to patients as part of Labour’s ten-year plan to future-proof and modernise the health service.

The NHS Somerset integrated care board (ICB) has succeeded in securing funding to expand 16 of the surgeries within its catchment area – with more details about the timing of individual projects expected to be made public in the coming weeks.

Health secretary Wes Streeting MP said this represented the biggest investment in GP facilities in five years, and formed part of the government’s wider £26bn investment in the NHS in a bid to get patients out of acute hospitals and into their local communities.

He said: “It will be a long road, but this government is putting in the work to fix our NHS.

“These are simple fixes for our GP surgeries but for too long they were left to ruin, allowing waiting lists to build and stopping doctors treating more patients.

“It is only because of the necessary decisions we took in the budget that we are able to invest in GP surgeries.”

The 16 Somerset GP practices to benefit:

  1. Axbridge & Wedmore Medical Practice, Houlgate Way, Axbridge
  2. Beckington Family Practice, St. Luke’s Road, Beckington
  3. Church Street Surgery, Church Street, Martock
  4. Church View Medical Centre, Broadway Road, Broadway
  5. Crewkerne Health Centre, Middle Path, Crewkerne
  6. East Quay Medical Centre, East Quay, Bridgwater
  7. Edington Surgery, Broadway, Edington
  8. French Weir Health Centre, French Weir Avenue, Taunton
  9. Glastonbury Surgery, Feversham Lane, Glastonbury
  10. Highbridge Medical Centre, Alfred Court, Highbridge
  11. Langport Surgery, A378 North Street, Langport
  12. Lister House Surgery, B3227 Croft Way, Wiveliscombe
  13. Quantock Vale Surgery, Mount Street, Bishop’s Lydeard
  14. Vine Surgery, Hindhayes Lane, Street
  15. Warwick House Surgery, Upper Holway Road, Taunton
  16. Wincanton Health Centre, Dyke’s Way, Wincanton

Each of the practices being supported by the government’s primary care utilisation and modernisation fund will be provided with capital funding to build new consultation and treatment rooms, or substantially remodel their existing premises to make better use of existing space.

It does not cover the day-to-day running costs associated with running a surgery, such as the salaries of hiring more doctors or practice nurses – with these being met through the budgets of individual surgeries.

However, the improved working conditions is designed not only to improve patients’ experience but to make the given practices more attractive to potential staff, aiding with ongoing recruitment and retention.

Dr Amanda Doyle, national director for primary care and community services, said: “We know more needs to be done to improve patient access to general practice and this investment in more than 1,000 primary care premises will help do this.”