A KEIGHLEY GP surgery has received a healthy diagnosis from a Government minister.

Dr Daniel Poulter, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health, visited award-winning Holycroft.

He was accompanied by Keighley MP, Kris Hopkins.

Dr Poulter praised staff and the work being carried out at the surgery, in Oakworth Road.

He said: "As a doctor who continues to work in the NHS and knows just how busy this winter period has been for staff, I enjoyed hearing about the excellent and innovative work they are doing to improve services for patients."

Afterwards, he tweeted about how much he had enjoyed last Thursday's (Mar 7) visit.

Innovative developments at the surgery include a patient liaison team, a new physician associate role – which will focus on helping patients with minor ailments – and a so-called TLC model, aimed at helping those with long-term conditions better manage their own health.

Andy Haigh, practice manager at Holycroft Surgery, said: "It was great to meet Dr Poulter and Kris Hopkins. It's not often we have the opportunity to talk so candidly to ministers so it was good to have the time to chat face to face.

"We pride ourselves on working with other local GP practices, the Clinical Commissioning Group and our providers to look at innovative ways to deliver health services for our local residents.

"We were able to showcase some examples of our innovative work that we have carried out over the last couple of years."

Mr Hopkins said: "It was a great pleasure to have the opportunity to show the minister around Holycroft Surgery which enjoys such a well-earned reputation, as evidenced by a customer excellence award for continued commitment to high quality patient service.

"The Government has kept its commitment to continue to invest in the NHS, with spending increasing in real terms every year since 2010."