A town's new multi-million pound surgery building has officially opened.

The new Ivy Court Surgery building in Tenterden has opened for pre-booked appointments only.

Plans for the ambitious expansion project were confirmed in November 2018, with work starting in July the following year.

The new three-storey building will bring the surgery's capacity to around 20,000, a dramatic increase from the previous building, which was already over-capacity.

It is believed that the surgery will begin to serve that number within the next five to ten years as new developments come to the area.

Practice Manager Lyndsey Webber said that it was a "great feeling" to move into the much-anticipated build.

"It's been a long 21 months," she said, "and I'm sure that all of our staff and patients will be glad to have seen the doors open this week.

"It's been a long 21 months"

"We are excited to be able to continue to bring the best care for our patients in a new purpose-built building."

The project was originally due for completion in the autumn of last year, but work was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Webber said: "Jenners were forced to stop for around five to six weeks in March, but they got straight back in as soon as they were able to.

"They pulled out all of the stops to get the building finished by February and we can't speak highly enough of them".

The new building is now housing the surgery's vaccine rollout, which is continuing at pace.

Ms Webber explained: "The PCN have worked very hard to contact everyone who is currently eligible for the vaccine, and supplies of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine have been improving.

"Many people have been either using us or one of the mass-vaccination centres nearby; we are all working together on this and it is fantastic to see."

An announcement on the surgery's official Facebook page read: "Our new building is now operational, and it is housing all of the surgery functions.

"Please do not go to East Cross reception, come to the new main building if you are attending the surgery for an appointment.

"As previously, due to Covid-19, if you do not have an appointment, phone us to arrange an appointment. All face to face contact is by pre-arranged appointment only.

"It will take a few days for all our IT and phone systems to be running completely up to speed in the new building, so please bear with us.

"The move to the new building does not change the fact that, due to covid19 all first-contact consultations with a GP will be phone based at this time.

"Face to face appointments will only occur for the small minority of cases where this is necessary for further clinical assessment following phone consultation.

The work on the new building had been expected to finish in the autumn of last year, but was halted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The "contemporary" facility will provide specialist services for sufferers of asthma and diabetes, and rehabilitation needs will also be a key focus of the enhanced medical centre.

Read more: All the latest news from Tenterden