WORK is on course to complete the £12m Tidworth primary health-care centre by the summer.

The centre will bring together facilities that at present are scattered over four locations in the garrison town.

Moving into the new building will be the medical reception station currently at Dehli Barracks, the St Andrew's Road group practice, the Tidworth families' clinic and the St Andrew's Road dental practice.

The building has been designed to meet current security levels, and facilities for military personnel include a physical rehabilitation department, a gym, a joint services community mental health unit and a digital X-ray department, which will have an electronic-fibre link direct to the Royal Hospital Haslar.

The civilian community will also benefit from a families' clinic wing, which will be run by the National Health Service.

Its facilities include a baby clinic, midwives, health visitors, a speech therapist, a community dentist and an audiologist.

The public entrance to the facilities will be outside the wire in St Michael's Avenue, opposite the Garrison Church, and the car park will be on the site of the old swimming pool.

Military personnel will also have access from inside the camp perimeter.

Contractors for the project are Taylor Woodrow plc and the scheme is one of the first in the country under the prime contract initiative.

The chosen contractor, selected from around 30 bidders, not only designed the centre, in conjunction with the ministry of defence, but will maintain it for the first three years and will assist the four existing premises to move into their new quarters.