A private medical centre in Sevenoaks has marked its first anniversary under its new owners - a year in which it has ended up acting as a vital NHS vaccination hub.

The Sevenoaks Medical Centre, in London Road, was taken over by Maidstone's KIMS Hospital in January 2020 and welcomed its first customers two months later - just days before the first national lockdown.

The pandemic had a dramatic impact on its plans.

Since the vaccine roll-out, it has worked alongside the local primary care network to delivery 13,000 of the potentially life-saving jabs on the NHS.

KIMS Hospital’s CEO Simon James said: “No-one could have predicted the challenges of the past year, but we are delighted to have been able to play our part in protecting the health of the Sevenoaks community. We are extremely proud of how we have been able to respond and support the vaccine rollout.

"As Covid-19 cases continue to decline across the county, we are pleased to be able to open our doors again to private patients wanting fast access to healthcare close to where they live and continuing our support to the local community."

Despite the disruption caused by the health crisis, the centre has held more than 2,300 private consultant appointments and over 1,000 imaging scans during its first year.

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