PLANS for a é20 million medical centre in Oldham have been given the go-ahead.

Work on the clinic, which will be built on a car park close to Oldham Civic Centre on the junction of St Mary's Street and Cheapside, is expected to start on Monday.

It will be home to 10 GPs, along with dentists, district nurses and specialised health workers, as well as offering 24-hour access to a wide range of medical services.

The centre will house kitchens for community and patient education, a pharmacy and treatment rooms to carry out minor surgery and medical testing in-house - taking pressure off Royal Oldham Hospital. Riaz Ahmed, chairman of Oldham Primary Care Trust, said: "This is one of the biggest community health care projects in the region, if not the country.

"We want to provide the people of Oldham with the best quality health care available and the best choice of services - and I believe this centre will help us achieve that."

'Thrilled'

It is thought the centre will take about two years to build, with the first patients walking through the doors in the summer of 2009.

PCT chief executive Gail Richards said: "This is something we have been working on since 2002 and we are thrilled work is finally getting under way.

"The centre will offer a full range of health care services, available to the public 24 hours a day seven days a week, including out of hours GP services, a walk- in centre, emergency dental care and a pharmacy. It will also house meeting rooms for community and patient groups, a kitchen and a library."

Health bosses are now launching a competition to find a name for the new medical centre and will also be unveiling a scale model of the centre in the near future. An Oldham council spokesman said: "This is a very welcome development.

"We worked very closely with the PCT to bring this about and it is a massive step up in the provision of healthcare in the borough."