Work has been completed on a new £3.1m medical centre in Bristol.
Local firm, KITTO Construction, has completed the development on time and within budget.
Patients will now swap a cramped surgery, comprising two 1950s semis in Fouracre Road, Downend, for the light, airy, spacious and energy-efficient Leap Valley Medical Centre in Beaufort Road.
Kitto Group’s managing director, Graham Rowe, said: “This is our fifth primary healthcare facility tailormade for patients and staff.
Leap Valley Medical Centre is a lovely light and airy working environment which will be a more accessible and enjoyable experience for clients
“Kitto project managed the scheme from design to finish, to ensure a first-class medical centre and delivered the scheme within budget.”
The new two-storey L-shaped medical centre with ground-floor pharmacy is set to open on Monday and will cater for more than 10,000 patients with eight GPs and 24 staff.
GP partners will lease the new property over 21 years, with specialist Primary Health Properties (PHP) taking ownership of the facility on completion.The ground-floor medical suite comprises a lobby, patient check-in, waiting areas, 10 doctor consulting rooms, a suite of treatment rooms and minor operations surgery, together with utility and storage areas.
A staircase and lift provides access to an upper consulting suite along with a meeting and training room, staff room, kitchen, offices, community nursing and health visitor team rooms, IT room, stores, toilets and staff shower room.
The surgery is super insulated to the highest heat-saving standards, with gas-fired underfloor heating, comfort cooling to the communications room, as well as data, telecom, CCTV security, access controls and a patient call system.
There will be onsite parking for 40 cars, along with new pedestrian-friendly access and landscaped grounds.
The site was larger than required and surplus land will be used by Kitto Developments to develop nine two-bedroom flats.
Practice nurse, Sue Hooper, who has worked at the Fouracre Road surgery for 25 years, said: “Leap Valley Medical Centre is a lovely light and airy working environment which will be a more accessible and enjoyable experience for clients.
In designing the layout, we’ve been able to question why we do things in a certain way, and how we could do it better
“It’s great to have a car park so patients can park easily and safely. This is a long-awaited move which staff are looking forward to and enables us to continue giving our patients the same high standard of care in a lovely building.”
Senior GP partner, Dr Caroline Jones, who was a patient at the old surgery when she was a baby and returned 18 years ago to look after the community, added: “The new surgery is so much better for patients and will allow us to introduce new services to improve care.
And operations manager, Sarah Cole, added: “The new building gives a great opportunity to redesign processes and systems in a way which works best for our patients and staff.
“In designing the layout, we’ve been able to question why we do things in a certain way, and how we could do it better.
“The move gives us the chance to embrace new technology and will hopefully improve our patient’s experience further.”
