TWO senior Greenock GPs claim the new £20 million health centre for the town will be a waste of money — because it is being built in the wrong place.

Both Dr Greg Sykes and Dr Brian Kerr of the Regent Practice have also accused health and social care bosses of ‘putting fast food restaurants before medical services’ in the town.

They believe the state-of-the-art medical facility planned for the former Wellington Academy should have been located at the waterfront alongside the Beacon, or other more suitable sites rather than in Broomhill.

The doctors believe that health and social care bosses are repeating past mistakes by building a health centre in a place where there is no room for expansion.

The GPs, who have worked in Greenock for 30 years, also criticised the £95,000 budget for artwork in the new health centre in Dempster Street.

Dr Greg Sykes added: “I can’t believe they are spending that on artwork in a health centre. 

“We have no axe to grind as by the time this opens I will be retired, so I won’t be working there.

“But I will be there as a patient.

“I live in Greenock and I want what is best for the area. 

“We care about what happens and we want to speak out.

“The health centre is going to be in the wrong place.

“They are repeating past mistakes and wasting public money.”

Dr Kerr added: “They have chosen a Hungry Horse over a health centre.

“We believe the waterfront would have been a better site for the health centre.

“It is £20 million of public money and it is going to be wasted on this site.

“The access roads to the health centre are terrible.

“We cannot imagine a private developer ever investing this amount of money in such a poor site.

“Why not show how important health services are and have it at the waterfront?

“You have to wonder, why they are building a health centre on top of a hill?”

The pair believe the new facility will suffer problems with parking and say it is being built at the top of a steep incline with a heavily cambered road, already congested with cars and residential streets.

With the expansion of link workers, paramedics, pharmacists and nurses they believe the health centre will quickly run out of room.

The doctors say the centre is being built on land that no-one else wanted, freeing up the current site to be sold on.

Dr Kerr added: “This site was not even a first choice.

“Why did council planners not renegotiate with Peel Holdings to look at sites down at the waterfront?

“Perhaps they do not value medical services and prefer to have fast food restaurants instead.

“It is clear to me that the profile of fast foot restaurants is more important than showcasing medical services in Inverclyde.”

The GPs told the Tele that the former school was listed as the least desirable option on a consultation paper before a decision was made to select it as the chosen site.