100th New NHS Health Centre Opens Its Doors Under Innovative Building Programme, UK

November 13, 2006 – 1:18 pm | posted in Primary Care

More ’super surgeries’ now offering minor operations and medical tests closer to NHS patients’ homes

The NHS last week opened the hundredth new health centre built under the Government’s NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) programme, a scheme aimed at improving community health services in some of the country’s poorest and most deprived areas.

Three new NHS LIFT health centres are opening inside the week, with the 100th building now open in St Helens (Longview Drive Centre) and further centres opening in East London (Frail Elders’ Centre) and in Thorne, Doncaster (The Vermuyden Centre). Over 70 further NHS LIFT health centres and GP surgeries are already under construction, while dozens more are being planned.

The Â£3 million Longview Drive Primary Care Centre houses a GP practice with an enhanced minor surgery suite. Patients can also access a wide range of services under the one roof, including health visitors, midwives and cardiac nurses.

Health Minister Lord Warner said:

“NHS LIFT is helping us deliver our vision of an NHS that treats more patients outside of large hospitals. The opening of the 100th new surgery shows that this vision is starting to become a reality.

“The NHS has never witnessed such a sustained investment in GP surgeries and health centres. Around Â£1 billion has already been earmarked for new buildings through NHS LIFT.

“These are purpose built facilities, where GP services are often on the same site as pharmacies and social services, and are not simple like-for-like replacements.

“The centres are more convenient for patients, particularly older patients and those with long-term conditions, as they offer more care closer to home.

“These modern, spacious and hygienic buildings also help improve the morale of staff working there and, help to attract more GPs into inner-city areas.”

Rather than simply replacing outdated facilities, NHS LIFT premises offer many services traditionally only found in hospitals. As well as GP surgeries, the buildings have delivered ’super surgeries’ where NHS patients can get minor surgery for hernia repairs, sports injuries and even vasectomies.

X-rays, medical tests, speech and language therapy, chiropody, physiotherapy and dentistry, are also now available in some of the new centres.

The NHS is continuing to make progress on the latest wave of NHS LIFT schemes. Seven wave four projects are proceeding towards appointment of their Private Sector Partner (PSP), their preferred bidder, and three of these are already at this stage.

The NHS LIFT programme is just part of the department’s major programme to modernise GP premises. Over 500 new one-stop health centres have been built since 2001, including those built under NHS LIFT. This will rise to 625 by the end of 2006 and hit 750 by the end of 2008.

In addition, during the last five years over 3,000 GP surgeries - almost one third of all surgeries - have recently been substantially refurbished or replaced.

The new community hospitals initiative, in which the Department will invest Â£750 million over the next five years, will complement this programme, providing many similar services, but on a bigger scale.

Popularity: 1% [?]