THIS year we're off to sunny Spain – viva España. So says the famous holiday anthem, and so were the staff from Haslemere Health Centre last week when they shut up shop and are believed to have jetted off to Barcelona for a "team building" day.

Prescribed by the health centre's team of doctors, who were understood to have footed the bill for the whistle-stop excursion, staff including doctors, practice nurses and receptionists swapped a cool and rainy day in Haslemere for warmer climes of the Med, where the sun was shining and temperatures were nudging the 80s.

While practice manager Melanie Baker refused to confirm the destination or say how many staff enjoyed the special day out, a Haslemere ambulanceman said he had noticed that the health centre car park was unusually full, when he arrived to start his shift just after dawn at 6 am.

It is believed some 20 people from the team of nine partners, two assistant doctors, the practice, and office manager, five practice nurses and other staff, "took the Costa Brava plane" (so says the song) and headed for the sun.

Preparations for the day had apparently been under way for weeks. Permission, said Ms Baker, for the trip had been given by the Primary Care Trust and the Health Authority and most of their patients had been notified, as well as ensuring that other arrangements were put in place.

But when The Herald arrived on Thursday morning, just after 9 am in response to two anonymous tip-offs that heath centre staff had taken off for a day in Barcelona, leaving town at 4-30 am, it found not only the doors to the building firmly shut, but also a health professional (who did not wish to be named), holding her clinic outside the health centre in the rain.

Unable to get into the health centre, she said: "I've turned up to run a clinic and hadn't been told."

One patient, a mother and her son from Farnham, who did not wish to be named, appeared though to be happy enough with the arrangement.

"It's just one of those things, but just seems a bit strange," she said.

And another patient May Bicknell from Oak Tree Lane, Shottermill, said: "I think they should have publicised it a bit more. I came up to make an appointment; it's not very good is it?"

And Haslemere town councillor Fay Foster, said: "It's unbelievable".

The notice on the one of the doors of the health centre announced: "This health centre will be completely closed on Thursday September 15, 2005. Please do not come to pick up your repeat prescription on this day. In an emergency, contact Thamesdoc on 020 8390 9991."

The Primary Care Trust declined to comment on the away day but instead asked Rose Parry, the associate director of Haslemere Community Hospital, to respond to The Herald's request. Mrs Parry said the trip "had been planned for a long time" and she had known for several weeks. But she told The Herald she didn't know where the health centre staff had gone.

"Team building days are part and parcel of education and training. All I can tell you is that all the health services are covered and we have got full medical cover, with one of the GPs working in the minor injuries and another on the wards. They covered every medical emergency they could think of," said Mrs Parry.

This week, Ms Baker defended the away day even though she was very coy about giving away any of the details including where they went and how many staff had taken part.

So it is also not known whether the trip lived up to the expectations of the 70s hit of getting to "chat a matador in some cool cabaña" or it gave the day trippers a chance to "meet señoritas by the score".

"The doctors do a really good job; we have a fine practice and support the community. The doctors paid for this trip out of their own pockets and we have never ever had a day off with our staff before. It was such a good team building day, our staff work long and hard and never get to get together and some of them have been here for 25 years," said Ms Baker.

"It was a way of saying thank you and getting our team together."

And she added that every doctor in the building had done an extra day's work and every member of staff worked an additional nine hour day to cover the time the health centre was closed.

Ms Baker. was adamant that everything had been put in place and "there were no gaps in the service".