AN AGEING surgery which once featured in a hit TV show has had a makeover.
Marsden Health Centre is familiar to millions of viewers, having being used in the ITV drama Where The Heart Is, which ran from 1997 to 2006.
Workers have just completed a £100,000 upgrade to bring the Victoria Street building into the 21st Century.
Dr Nicola Dann, one of three GPs at the practice, is delighted with the revamp.
“We’ve got a new admin room, a new consulting room and a dedicated area for the baby clinic,” she said.
“The surgery feels like a more upbeat place to work now, it looks much brighter and more professional.”
Dr Dann said patients liked the new-look surgery.
“Patients have complimented the work. The overall feeling is positive,” she said.
NHS Kirklees decided to spend £100,000 on the revamp after failing to find another site in the village.
“We’ve been trying to get an upgrade for 15 years and there were quite a lot of options for moving, including to the fire station and one of the old mills,” said Dr Dann.
“In the end they decided it wasn’t financially feasible so they paid for the upgrade instead.”
The work began eight months ago at the surgery, which serves 4,500 people in Marsden.
External shots of the clinic were frequently used in Where The Heart Is, a drama based around a health centre in the fictional Yorkshire village of Skelthwaite.
But, despite its fame, the building was showing its age.
Dr Dann said: “It’s an old 1960s prefab and it was desperately needing some work.
“It looked tired.”
The five members of the surgery’s patient participation group had a tour of the new-look clinic last Tuesday.
Elisabeth Boulton, 40, is pleased with the revamp.
“I’m very impressed with what they have managed to do,” said the Marsden woman.
“The wood panelling outside has been replaced by some stained oak and automatic doors have been installed.
“It looks much more spacious inside. They have done well to make an old building look more modern.”
