TWO doctors surgeries in Ipswich are today preparing to expand after being granted a share of more than £100,000 for refurbishment works.Pinewood Surgery in Laburnum Close will receive £80,500 and Lattice Barn Surgery in Woodbridge Road will receive £27,600.

TWO doctors surgeries in Ipswich are today preparing to expand after being granted a share of more than £100,000 for refurbishment works.

Pinewood Surgery in Laburnum Close will receive £80,500 and Lattice Barn Surgery in Woodbridge Road will receive £27,600.

The money is due to be given to the surgeries at the start of the new financial year in April.

Lesley Summers, practice manager of the Pinewood Surgery, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded a portion of this grant funding.

“This grant will enable the surgery to make improvements that will benefit patients at Pinewood and Derby Road Surgeries in several ways.

“We will be able to build two new consulting rooms for use by doctors and nurses, and the reception desk will be improved to allow better confidentiality for patients and a safer working environment for the staff.

“The surgery will also be able to centralise tasks at Pinewood to relieve the pressure on Derby Road Surgery which also has problems with working from premises that are too small.”

Mrs Summers added that the proposals were still in the very early stages but said: “This is certainly a very positive step towards improving the service we can provide to the patients in this part of Ipswich.”

A spokesman for the Lattice Barn surgery said: “The money will enhance the provision of care to our patients, and will enable the practice to re-establish itself as a training practice.

“We will be able to provide an additional consulting room for use by doctors and nurses, and space to re-establish ourselves as a training practice, which we think represents excellent value for money.

“This funding, however, in no way addresses the ongoing national problem of wholly inadequate funding for appropriately developing primary care premises, but will allow a modest increase in clinical space.”

The money comes from the County Premises Group, which allocates funds to health organisations to help with improve existing buildings or create new ones.

The money is ring-fenced so could not be put towards paying off debt.

The County Premises Group gave surgeries across Suffolk more than £668,000 this year - the other surgeries that benefited were in Lowestoft, Beccles and Wickhambrook.