A Suffolk doctors surgery has submitted plans to expand its premises to cope with increasing demand due to new housing.

Haven Health in Grange Farm Avenue, Felixstowe has applied to East Suffolk Council for permission to expand to accommodate the need for more doctors to cope with a growing population, with the town set to see an increase of 3,000 new homes.

In a design and access statement, the applicant's agent Peter Wells Architects said the surgery, close to the town's Morrison's supermarket, had also taken on 1,000 patients following the closure of the nearby Walton Surgery in 2020 and now had 8,500 patients on its books.

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Other reasons for the expansion included the need to train up more doctors and increase the number of places for medical students, to expand the wider clinical team, including nurses and pharmacists and to co-locate some services at the surgery to facilitate co-working.

The expansion plans include the creation of new extensions to the north and south of the existing building, which will provide two new consulting rooms and additional floor space.

An existing extension will also be reconfigured internally so the whole extension wing will provide for six new consultation rooms.

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These consultation rooms will be used for face-to-face consultations with patients, although approximately 85-90% of consultations are now made either by phone or by video call.

In the statement, the architects said: "Haven Health surgery took on 1,000 patients following the closure of Walton Surgery in Felixstowe in 2020 and now has over 8,500 patients.

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"Significant housing expansion in Felixstowe, with an estimated increase of circa 3,000 new homes, has also led to an increase in the need for general practitioners."

No decision has yet been made on the plans, which were submitted at the end of September. 

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