New GP surgery openings ‘quicker than Tesco’

pharmafile | April 10, 2006 | News story | |   

The government says dozens of new GP surgeries will be opened over the next three years, bringing a broad range of services closer to home for patients.

The surgeries will be placed within all-in-one health centres, numbers of which are due to increase from 500 at the start of 2005 to 750 by 2008.

As well as housing GP surgeries, the purpose built centres include services such as community and district nurses, pharmacies, midwifery and dentistry.

Speaking at the NHS Confederation conference, Health Minister Lord Warner said: "The time is now right to move care closer to home and make care more accessible and responsive to patients.

"We expect to see an additional 125 primary care centres built by the end of this year, a rate of expansion that I am told is quicker than Tesco.

"It would be better for the elderly and those with long-term conditions, like diabetes and heart disease, to be treated in health centres than large hospitals," he added.

The 350 community hospitals in England will also benefit from the government's investment into primary care.

The government plans to build, re-build or refurbish at least 50 more of the small local hospitals.

One of the most recently built was the 16 million pounds Dovercourt and Harwich Community Hospital, which opened its doors to patients in January.

The hospital offers a GP centre that brings together 10 GPs from two practices and a 25-bed inpatient ward. It also houses a maternity suite, minor injuries unit, outpatients facilities and out of hours centre. Other facilities include an operating theatre, endoscopy suite, dental surgery and a diagnostic centre.

 

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