Wantage Town Council, Oxfordshire County Council, and Vale of White Horse District Council along with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and the local NHS, have agreed on an investment programme for a Wantage Community Hospital refurbishment.
It has been decided that £900,000 will be allocated to refurbish the ground floor of Wantage Community Hospital.
The majority of the funding, which comes from the District Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Fund, followed extensive liaison over the last nine months.
The negotiations resulted in the increase of the initial £600,000 estimate to £900,000.
The new £900,000 estimate was to better support community needs, bringing care closer to home and integrating mental and physical health services.
Additional services will be able to commence their clinics once building works are completed later in 2025
Outpatient services at the hospital, that have been piloted over the last two years, can continue, and the local NHS remains committed to identifying and expanding service provision from the refurbished space.
Additional services will be able to commence their clinics once building works are completed later in 2025.
The project will also benefit from a significant legacy left to the Oxford Health Charity specifically for investment in Wantage Community Hospital.
This will be used to enhance patient, carer, and family access and experience to the newly refurbished spaces
The negotiations resulted in the increase of the initial £600,000 estimate to £900,000.
Dr Ben Riley, Oxford Health’s Chief Operating Officer for Community Health Services, Dentistry and Primary Care, said: “Working in partnership with our health and care partners and the local community to make the case for the funding has been hugely important, as it has directly shaped the building designs and the discussions about the services that will come to the refurbished hospital in the future.”
Dan Leveson, Director for Places and Communities at the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire West ICB, said: “The partnership work undertaken over the last couple of years between the NHS, local government, the community, and its leaders is a great example of how the needs of local people can be understood when it comes to more routine care being provided closer to where they live.
“The changes happening at Wantage will also help meet national ambitions around people getting treated more quickly.”