A GROUP of GPs and hospital consultants has lost more than £790,000 after its private health clinic folded.

The doctors behind the One.Day Medical Centre, in London Road, Leigh, watched their business founder after ploughing thousands of pounds of their own cash into its start-up.

But the clinic’s new bosses, who have rescued it from closure, have vowed it will rise from the ashes and become stronger than ever.

Steve Woolridge, managing director of the renamed Chartwell Private Hospital, said: “The sad truth is that the business was never viable in its first incarnation.

“But there is definitely a business here that can be made to work.

“We are determined to do that, and the owner is definitely in it for the long-run, not to make a fast buck.”

One.Day was the brainchild of GPs at Leigh’s Highlands Surgery – which neighbours the clinic site – and several consultants from Southend and Basildon hospitals.

When it opened in 2007, the group envisaged it as a one-stop shop for minor procedures which could be completed in a single day, rather than dragged out over several hospital visits or overnight stays.

But the huge building costs for the three-storey building meant the project was on the financial back foot from the start.

After recording huge losses for the first two years, Mr Woolridge was brought on board in 2009 in a bid to restructure the firm.

But the collapse of the private healthcare market in the recession and problems with red tape when the clinic took on NHS work sounded its death knell.

Mr Woolridge’s parent company, Chartwell Group, which runs several care homes in Leicestershire, bought out One.Day earlier this year. It is hoped with fresh expertise behind it and with the freedom to bring in changes in the way the clinic is run, Mr Wooldridge will be able to turn the clinic’s fortunes around.

He now plans to focus on securing regular NHS work and more lucrative private business to ensure the clinic does not run aground again.

Mr Woolridge recently sealed a deal to buy state-of-the-art MRI and CT scanners – worth more than £3.5million when they were installed – and wants to offer cut-price deals to patients.

He said: “We could do an MRI scan for £199, which is half the cost you would pay elsewhere.

“Even the hospital does not have facilities this good.

“There is something here for us to build on and we are confident it will be a success.”

No one from the Highlands Surgery was available for comment.