HEALTH chiefs in Torfaen are seeking Assembly backing to provide a new medical centre in Abersychan, to serve more than 11,000 patients.

The centre is a fundamental part of Torfaen Local Health Board's plans to modernise primary care services in the north of the county borough - and if it gets the nod from Cardiff Bay, it could be open as early as May 2010.

The new building would provide a wider range of services than is currently possible from the town's existing medical centre, where space is at such a premium that GPs have to share consulting and office space on a rota basis.

One of Torfaen’s largest training practices, the need for a new surgery building in Abersychan has also been made acute by rising demand for more services to be provided in primary care settings, to minimise the need for patients to attend hospital.

The new centre would form a vital part of a new network of GP services in north Torfaen, with strong links to a proposed primary care and resource centre, or super-surgery, in Blaenavon.

The LHB wants to rebuild Abersychan Medical Centre on its existing site, but create a five-fold increase in the space available. The practice is one of Torfaen's largest, but numbers are set to grow with planned housing developments in the area in the next 10 years. The development would also ensure the practice can continue to provide medical training.

The cost of the development, after the initial set-up, would be rent of almost £250,000 a year, funded recurrently through the Assembly, with no direct financial implication on Torfaen LHB.

If the proposal is approved by the Assembly, the aim is to start work on the site next May. The practice would be moved - to premises in the town's Limekiln Road - while the new medical centre is built.