HEADINGTON’S oldest GP surgery has been given the go-ahead by Oxford City Council to expand.

The Manor Surgery in Osler Road will now get a £1.1m expansion to meet the ever-increasing demands on family doctors in the area.

The two-storey scheme will increase the number of assessment rooms on the site, and could house ultrasound and radiography facilities to avoid patients having to go to hospital for tests.

There are also plans for the surgery to triage non-urgent patients from the John Radcliffe Hospital A&E, to reduce the pressure on the hospital.

GP Dr Gerald Sacks said: “One of the problems we have in Oxford is there is an out-of-hours service but it is in Cowley, so a lot of people will think instead of having to get through secretaries they will go straight to the JR and get seen, even if they have to wait hours for trivial things like tinnitus and earwax.

“With the expansion of the surgery and the bringing in of seven-day GP opening times, the space and the proximity to the John Radcliffe Hospital may lead us to collaborate with some patients.”

The surgery currently has 14,500 registered patients.

The expansion is expected to cost about £1.1m, with £770,000 being given by the Government and the rest funded by the surgery.

Fellow Manor Surgery GP and chairman of the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group Dr Joe McManners said: “We have a growing population in this part of the city and we need to start looking to the future. We are also keen to look into what our surgery can provide to the hospitals.”