Stratford Village Surgery is set to soon offer up to five new clinical rooms for GP and nurse appointments, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter

A doctors’ surgery in Stratford can be expanded after councillors granted planning permission earlier this month.

Stratford Village Surgery in Romford Road already serves more than 13,100 patients, but needs more space to meet growing demand.

Plans submitted to Newham Council say the extension “would substantially improve the function and capacity of the surgery”.

The GP surgery wants to expand from its current address at 50B and 50C Romford Road into the house next door, 50A.

It applied to the council for planning permission to change the use of the house from residential to a GP surgery.

Plans submitted to the council said this was so it could “meet, and accommodate, the demand for new patient registrations”.

They say the expansion would allow it to provide up to five new clinical rooms for GP and nurse appointments, and more waiting space.

A larger community room in the basement “could be used for services such as health checks weight loss clinics, or group diabetes management classes”.

The two upper floors would be converted into admin office space, to facilitate the recruitment of more GPs.

Details submitted to the council say the surgery currently employs 36 staff including nine GPs.

They say it is recruiting for one additional GP, and also expects to use between one and four locums and medical students throughout the year.

Plans say there will be no change to the surgery’s opening hours, which are currently Monday to Friday, from 8am-6pm, and Saturdays from 8am-1pm.

However, the extra space will allow for the surgery to offer more appointments at the same time.

Proposals add that all the services will be NHS, and that “there will not be any private health services offered on the premises”.

Councillors voted to approve the plans at a meeting of the strategic development committee on Tuesday, 8th September and planning permission was formally granted just over a week later, on the 16th.

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