A CROSLAND MOOR health centre - once the target of arsonists - has been transformed into a flagship for primary care in Huddersfield.

Patients suffering skin conditions and joint complaints will no longer have to wait months for hospital appointments thanks to the opening of the newly-refurbished Moorfield Primary Care Centre.

The centre, on Park Road West was the former surgery site of Drs Michael Taylor and Vivien Martin. Their surgery is now based in the grounds of nearby St Luke's Hospital.

Meanwhile, GPs specialising in dermatology and musculo-skeletal conditions from across the Huddersfield area will be holding sessions at the new centre.

Patients with conditions including eczema, psoriasis, moles and back pain will be referred by their GPs enabling them to be diagnosed and treated more quickly.

Rob Napier, chairman of Huddersfield Central Primary Care Trust, funding the £200,000-a-year venture, said: "The key motivation is bringing services into the community instead of patients trekking up to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

"If we make services available to patients on their doorsteps it is good for them.

"The other benefit is a more efficient operation.

"It is cheaper for the same quality and better value which is good news because we can use the money freed up for other services."

He said hospital waiting lists would be reduced, taking the pressure off HRI, and the centre would pave the way for other services.

A new phone service involving four GP surgeries, PhysioDirect, was also being piloted from the site offering advice to patients.

The scheme is expected to be expanded at the end of March.