A pioneering new £8m health hub is set to benefit thousands of patients when it opens next month.
Hailed as a beacon of future primary care services, the newly-completed, state-of-the-art West Hull Health Hub replaces the existing Springhead Medical Centre, which has operated at full capacity from dated facilities for almost 70 years.
An anticipated increase in patient numbers, and huge challenges to integrate services in the right location, saw the practice limited to just GP services without scope for expansion at the former premises.
Now, West Hull Health Hub is set to be handed over to development partner, Citycare, by Sewell Construction, ready for tenant, Modality Partnership (Hull), to move in.
The building will integrate services under one roof within the community with the aim of limiting the need for hospital admission.
The two-storey building has 32 clinical rooms, including GP and nurse consulting rooms, treatment rooms, clinical support areas, and office accommodation, as well as a reception and waiting area, a wheelchair-accessible lift, baby changing area and buggy parking, a pharmacy, and car park.
West Hull Health Hub is expected to open to patients in mid-December and the building adds to Citycare’s existing portfolio of 13 other state-of-the-art health centres delivered across the city in partnership with NHS Hull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and primary care providers.
The hub is part of Modality Partnership Hull Division, which has a total of 60,000 patients across four sites in the city.
There is a really big push for healthcare to be delivered within communities and pulled away from hospital-based settings and this new building will address that and provide a completely-fresh start
Modality Partnership also works in collaboration with four other practices in Hull as part of a Primary Care Network (PCN).
Dr Bushra Ali, GP and partner at Modality Partnership, and member of the NHS Hull CCG board, said: “Reaching the point where West Hull Health Hub is almost ready to open has been many years in the planning and to see it rise from the ground and take shape over the past year has been incredible.
“It will make such a difference to patients and clinicians, providing greater access to existing and improved health services, increased appointments, and more flexibility and space in a fit-for-purpose environment.
“We need to have facilities that are adaptable and flexible, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this much-needed facility will benefit thousands of patients in west Hull.”
Erica Daley, chief operating officer at NHS Hull CCG, adds: “The new West Hull Health Hub is a much-welcomed and long-awaited development for the west of the city, which will provide first-class premises for a range of clinical services for patients of Springhead Medical Practice.
The new West Hull Health Hub is a much-welcomed and long-awaited development for the west of the city, which will provide first-class premises for a range of clinical services
“Everyone involved in this important development is looking forward to the day, now only a few weeks away, when the new building opens, and the first patients start to access services.”
And Citycare chief executive, Tim Wigglesworth, said of the milestone: “West Hull Health Hub is the start of a new era and builds on the estate Citycare already has in Hull.
“There is a really big push for healthcare to be delivered within communities and pulled away from hospital-based settings and this new building will address that and provide a completely-fresh start for Modality.
“The new state-of-the-art facilities are fantastic for patients in this part of the city and we’re grateful to our partners at Sewell Construction which has delivered such a high-quality building for this community.”
