WORCESTER is to get a new walk-in health centre.

The city is top of a shortlist for a brand new GP-led health centre which could be open by December.

Costing £1 million-a-year to run, the centre will offer normal GP services, but will be open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week.

The centre, likely to be in the city centre, would be run by three doctors and nine nurses.

Patients will be able to register with one of its GPs or use it as a drop-in centre and keep their own doctor.

Worcestershire Primary Care Trust (PCT) chose Worcester over places like Kidderminster and Redditch based on population, growth, deprivation, visitor numbers and the patient/doctor ratio. The plans were discussed at a meeting of the health overview and scrutiny meeting at County Hall in Worcester on Thursday.

Councillor Fran Oborski suggested it could go in the new University of Worcester campus but nothing has been finalised yet.

The running costs - staff salaries, rent and the cost of converting the building - will be funded by the PCT. There would be no capital costs as it is likely to be based in an existing building.

Private companies, social enterprise organisations, voluntary organisations, GPs and the PCT can apply for the contract to run the new centre. Patient numbers may be capped at 5,400 to begin with to reduce the impact on existing GP surgeries.

But the plans attracted stinging criticism at the meeting.

County council chairman John Smith said the plans may benefit 150,000 people in Worcester but the needs of the remaining 450,000 in the county were also important.

He said: "It's another crazy initiative from central Government. We don't want it in Worcestershire. We want the money to be ploughed into our existing hospitals and community hospitals in our towns and into our doctors' surgeries."

George Wilson, a retired GP from Upton-upon-Severn, who was there to represent the Local Medical Committee, said: "This is a foot in the door for privatisation."

Malvern Hills district councillor Paul Tuthill said: "The Department of Health brain cell must have been used by someone else when this was conjured up."

Andrew Hughes, head of Primary Care, who led the presentation, said he expected the centre to attract younger patients.

The outline plan will be completed by next Tuesday and the tendering process is scheduled to finish in October 2008 so the new contract can be signed and the new service can be up and running some time between December and March 2009.