A GP surgery on the Isle of Dogs will get almost £1million of council funding to help the area cope with a growing population and improve services.

The money will pay for four new clinical rooms at Island Medical Centre, in Roserton Street, and allow the surgery to take on another 5,472 patients.

Tower Hamlets Public Health Programme Lead Matthew Phelan said the upgrades would also provide an extra 28,000 new patient appointments every year.

A council report noted: “Rapid population growth, stimulated by new residential development, is driving increased demand for healthcare provision in the affected localities.

“The proposed new health facilities and expansion will help build the extra clinical capacity that will be required to meet the increased demand for primary care.”

Mayor John Biggs agreed to release £985,839 to Tower Hamlets Clinical Care Group to pay for the improvements.

He said: “It is a very common complaint from Island residents and councillors that the population is growing at a significant rate and services are stretched.

“This plan could go some way to improving the GP services in the area.”

The upgrades are expected to be finished by 2020.