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A long awaited state-of-the-art new £14 million health centre in Cobridge, Stoke-on-Trent has reached financial close.
The new three storey community health centre will bring together two local GP practices. They are Dr Pathak whose surgery is based at 279 Waterloo Road in Burslem, and the Apsley House surgery based at 188 Waterloo Road.
Contracts have been signed by partners NHS Stoke on Trent, Prima 200 and Prime plc so that work can now start on site for the health centre in Elder Road.
The development will include a state of the art 2,665 sqm community health centre and a purpose built 1,668 sqm integrated sexual health unit, which will provide a range of specialist services benefiting communities across Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire.
The new three storey community health centre will bring together three local GP practices. They are Dr Parikh of Sneyd Green Surgery, Dr Pathak whose surgery is based at 279 Waterloo Road in Burslem, and the Apsley House surgery based at 188 Waterloo Road.
The building will include a wide range of health services including new facilities such as an on-site pharmacy, chest clinic, specialist out-patients clinics, and X-ray. Establishing these new services will help reduce patient journey times to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.
The integrated sexual health unit will offer a range of important clinical and counselling facilities including contraception advice, and sexual health services. A sexual assault referral centre will be provided on the second floor to offer support and care to victims of sexual violence.
Designed by healthcare specialists One Creative Environments, both buildings are shaped to reflect the local urban landscape, with design sympathetic to the Victorian Christ Church situated nearby. The site will also benefit from extensive landscaping and planting to provide additional green environmental space within the heart of Stoke –on-Trent. Each of the two buildings will also incorporate a range of environmental features to maximise their efficiency and minimise waste.
Work is expected to start on site in June 2010 with the development anticipated for completion in late summer 2011.
Nick Pritchard, Head of Premises Development, for NHS Stoke on Trent, said “It will be excellent to see work starting on site soon for this major new development. It has taken a great deal of hard work from a number of different stakeholders to bring together such a wide range of services on one site. Not only will the residents in this locality benefit from a new state of the art health centre, they will also be able to access many more specialist services previously located at other sites in North Staffordshire.
The 4,334 sqm development will contribute significantly to the wider regeneration of Cobridge. With a potteries heritage that has suffered with some areas of decline, this £14 million investment is expected to act as a catalyst for wider development and urban regeneration in the immediate area.”
Dr Ann Pursey, Chief Executive of Prima 200, said: “Reaching financial close on this site in Cobridge is an important step, not only for transforming services in the local community, but also for providing key region-wide facilities for specialist care. It demonstrates how effective LIFT can be at including and involving other stakeholders, and how it can offer critical opportunities to reorganise services on a community, hub and regional level.”
Steve Sprackling, Development Director at Prime plc added: “We are not far away now from starting work on this major 4,300 sqm development, which will transform the patient experience for the people of Cobridge. Three local GP surgeries will relocate under one roof, with a wide range of other clinical and care services, and new region-wide facilities will also be on offer at Elder Road. The new Cobridge Primary Care Centre will essentially bring a better range of health services to the community and better access to them.”
This will be the tenth new building that Prima 200 has delivered in North Staffordshire and the 6th with NHS Stoke on Trent, working together under the Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) programme. The programme set up 48 LIFT companies up and down the country to deliver modern, purpose-built new health centres for local communities. Prima 200 LIFT company was formed in 2005 to improve health care facilities for communities across Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire.