SEVEN years of planning came to fruition yesterday with the opening of a £4.5m health centre in one of Merseyside’s most deprived areas.

The Primary Care Resource Centre was officially opened by Children and Families minister Beverley Hughes.

It is one of eight centres in Knowsley that combines GP surgeries with an array of other health services ranging from a pharmacy, to a dental practice, podiatry and from children’s health services to district nurse clinics and weight management clinics.

North Huyton New Deal Committee granted £2m of the total budget and its chair, the Rev Father George Robson, paid tribute to the people who put so much effort to see the scheme through.

“This has been seven years in the making,” he said. “Working in partnership always has inherent delays because each of the partners has their own agenda and is pulling in different directions.

“It takes time and we’ve had to face delays and changes of direction.

“It’s been worth it in the end, and working together gets better results.”

Rosemary Hawley, chair of Knowsley Primary Care Trust, said finding the right site had been crucial and one of the hardest aspects of the project.

It fits in to the massive changes sweeping North Huyton which are creating new housing, new schools, retail and community centres in neighbouring streets.

Mrs Hughes said: “The sad fact is that the gap between those with the worst health and those with the best haven’t closed as much as we wanted.

“It’s not just a personal tragedy for those families who lose someone to poor health it is a big issue economically.

“It’s still the case that two babies born in the same ward on the same day will still have very different outcomes for those children. If we work with mothers through pregnancy and fathers to, that’s a bug bear of mine, then we can build in greater chances for the next generation of children here in Huyton.

“That’s what this centre can do.”