Fleetwood Health and Wellbeing Centre set to expand after £125,000 governement investment
Fleetwood Health and Wellbeing Centre is set to expand after a £125,000 cash boost.
The Dock Street health centre is one of five in the North West and 27 in the country to see government investment as part of a landmark 10 Year Health Plan.
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Fleetwood Health and Wellbeing Centre already contains 21 GP consultancy rooms, 2 GP treatment rooms, mental health services, adult social care services, children services, an urgent treatment centre treating minor injuries and a pharmacy. The investment of £125,000 will be used to create new clinical rooms on the first floor.
In time, centres will also include wider services like debt advice, employment and family support and other voluntary sector support and will be open 12 hours a day, six days a week.
The four other North West centres seeing investment are Alfred Barrow Health Centre in Barrow-in-Furness, Fingerpost Health Centre in St Helens, , Barbara Castle Way Health Centre in Blackburn and Radcliffe Primary Care Centre in Radcliffe.
Neighbourhood health services will benefit patients by providing end-to-end care and tailored support, looking beyond the condition at wider causes of health issues to the specific individual, helping avoid unnecessary trips to hospital, prevent complications and end the frustration of being passed around the system. This will have particular benefits for people with complex conditions, such as those at the end of their lives.
Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said: “This government is transforming healthcare, so the NHS works around the lives of patients – not vice versa.
“We’re rolling out neighbourhood health centres across the country by repurposing and improving local buildings, first targeting the communities that need them most. These one-stop-shops will help end the maze of referrals and repeated conversations, treating not just poor health but the causes of it too.
“As we rebuild our NHS, our mission is to shift more healthcare into the community, while delivering easier access to care, improved outcomes for patients and better value for money for the taxpayer.”
A range of services under one roof will mean more conditions can be treated swiftly locally - allowing people to talk through their health conditions as well as their lifestyle and quality of life and any other relevant contributing factors, enabling a rapid referral to the appropriate care and support where this is needed.
At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced plans for 250 new neighbourhood health centres across England, in a bid to cut waiting lists, transform how people access healthcare and bring the NHS closer to where people live.
In time a minimum opening requirement of 8am-8pm, six days a week will apply to all centres.
Dr Linda Charles-Ozuzu, Regional Director of Commissioning at NHS England in the North West, is leading the development of Neighbourhood Health in the region. She said: “We are delighted that five centres in our region have received funding as part of the first wave of neighbourhood health centres.
“Neighbourhood health centres have real potential to transform care and we are working with colleagues from across health and care to design them around our communities who rely on them the most. That means working in genuine partnership with local communities to understand what support will make the biggest difference.”