A CONTROVERSIAL health centre is due to open its doors in Banbury on October 1.

Former council offices in Bridge Street have been converted into a 'Darzi’ surgery – named after the surgeon and former health minister Lord Darzi, which will be open every day.

On Friday, Cherwell District Council will hand over the keys to doctors from Principal Medical Limited, which will run the surgery.

Over the past three months the three-storey building has been given a £680,000 refurbishment to equip it for its new role, paid for by the Oxfordshire NHS Primary Care Trust.

It has been designed to improve access to GPs and will offer a walk-in service, from 8am to 8pm every day.

The centre will also have dental services and house the offices of Oxfordshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team.

Banbury was chosen for the centre as it was one of the most deprived areas of the county and more GP practices in town were near to full capacity with registered patients than communities elsewhere.

But there has been opposition to the plan from some of the GP surgeries, which fear their practices will suffer if staff apply to work at the Darzi centre. Doctors also said services would be duplicated.

However, Oxfordshire PCT was told by the Government that it had to open a Darzi centre in the county.

George Reynolds, Cherwell District Council’s executive member for recreation and health, said: “The refurbished building on the corner of Bridge Street formerly housed district council offices, so it’s a plus to see it brought back into use.”