A surgery which was threatened with closure and the prospect of turning patients away celebrated a grand opening last week.

Croydon North MP Malcolm Wicks was at the Upper Norwood Group Practice surgery in Church Road to cut the ribbon and declare the newly renovated building officially open last Friday.

In January the Croydon Guardian reported how doctors at the new practice were having to consider turning patients away - only days after moving into bigger premises.

The medics moved into the new premises from their cramped Central Hill surgery but were only given a fraction of the renovation and running costs from Croydon Primary Care Trust (PCT).

They also claimed the PCT was only prepared to pay the same rent as that of their old surgery. This meant they were faced with having to rent out rooms in the new surgery to private businesses.

Practice manager Kay Coles said: "The building is fantastic and we wanted people to know how far we've come from a small practice."

It now has the facilities to perform minor surgery.

It also has a dedicated nurses room, a diabetes clinic and three more doctors have been taken on.

So far only one room has had to be rented out to a pharmacy.

Kay said: "We feel thrilled that we can offer these services.

"We might be pressurised into letting out the top room. We would have liked to keep it all for the NHS but we have to think of finances."