After a six-month delay, the co-op quietly opened its doors a fortnight ago in Charnwood, with new GP Rupert Lui seeing a steady flow of patients.

The centre is a not-for-profit venture owned and run by members of the community, who pay between $10 and $50 a year to join.

In return they receive bulk-billing, affordable extra health services and a say in how the co-op is managed.

Co-op board chairman Michael Pilbrow said it was exciting to finally have patients through the doors.

He said members hoped to open by mid-2009 but the ACT's severe doctor shortage meant the co-op had to look overseas for GPs, leading to delays.

''We were wanting to add to the pool of doctors in the ACT,'' he said.

British-trained Dr Lui is the co-op's first doctor and will be joined by four more British GPs and a Yass doctor by the end of the year.

Mr Pilbrow said about 500 people had signed on as co-op members so far.

For more on this story, see today's Canberra Times.