www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=133188&command=displayContent&sourceNode=133171&contentPK=15401321&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearchNEW TOWN'S £21M HEALTH CENTRE
11:50 - 12 September 2006
The planned £21 million health centre in the new town of Sherford will provide services to people in the South Hams and East Plymouth such as Plympton and Plymstock, as well as the new town.
The idea behind the centre, which is expected to open in 2010, is to provide services closer to the patient's home. The 45-bed centre will have its own theatre, where 2,500 minor operations will be carried out each year. It will be able to perform 35,000 X-rays every year and will have the ability to conduct 28,000 outpatient consultations in areas such as dermatology, cardiology, opthalmology and diabetes.
A Minor Injuries Unit which can see 28,000 patients a year will be also part of the scheme, and the centre will also house an MRI and CT scanner, as well as ultrasound facilities. Plans also include a 'GP Centre', a dental surgery and a pharmacy, as well as an area for integrated health and social care teams, and facilities for education and training.
The scheme is being developed as part of the overall Vanguard Project for the local health community, which also involves building a new £210 Planned Care Centre and a major refurbishment of Derriford.
It is hoped building work on the site will start in the second half of 2008, with the centre fully operational by 2010. The GP and dental surgery element of the centre will open sooner in a temporary base to serve the first 4,000 local people moving to the town while the rest of the centre is being built.
Deputy project director for Vanguard, Lesley Darke, said the centre will not just be for people in the new town, but also for people in the rest of the South Hams and parts of Plymouth, who are currently having to travel long distances to Derriford.
She said: "Sixty per cent of the population that will go to the Local Care Centre will come from Plymouth. It's not just about the South Hams. As far as access to local services are concerned, it's going to make a huge difference. The driver behind this is providing services close to the patients' homes."
Sue Scrivener, strategic planning manager at South Hams and West Devon PCT, said: "This proposed project will support, not only the new population of around 12,000 in Sherford new town, but also the wider Ivybridge/Yealm locality of South Hams and West Devon PCT, and subject to being approved by Plymouth PCT, also the populations of Plympton and Plymstock. The project is supported by both local and national strategies to provide services as close to people's homes as possible."
Initial designs indicate the centre will be over two floors, with a 'house-like' style, and it may even have shops attached to it.
Plymouth PCT is expected to approve the scheme on Thursday.
John Harrison, director of commissioning and service governance for Plymouth PCT, said: "With the advent of greater choice for patients, the public will expect to use the new facilities if they are closer than current facilities provided at Derriford and the new Local Care Centre at Mount Gould.
"The development at Sherford is completely in line with national and local policy to expand choice and develop community facilities to provide care closer to home."
