Over £15.7m worth of funding has been secured to improve primary care estates in Doncaster, with two new GP hubs set to be opened in Rossington and Bentley.
Following a thorough stage of planning, public consultations and legal processes, the final documentation has been signed off by NHS England.
Funding to develop the new hubs will be provided by the NHS and given to City of Doncaster Council (CDC) to build and maintain the sites. As the owner of the buildings, CDC will be landlord to both, with each being home to two GP practices who will each occupy under a long-term lease.
Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones said: “This investment is vital to support the people of Doncaster to live healthier lives.
“GPs are regularly the first port of call when it comes to our health and wellbeing, but we are all too aware of the current difficulty and the 8AM phone scramble for appointments.
“These new facilities will enable more health services to be delivered within our communities and closer to our residents.”
The funding for the Rossington Medical Centre and Bentley Primary Care Centre will be used to create modern and flexible spaces offering a range of services to patients, linking local services and improving the use of digital technology in primary care.
The aim of the new facilities is to:
- Provide fit for purpose facilities for the future delivery of Primary Care services
- Maximise value for money through shared estate and facilities
- Provide improved access and choice of services
- Support the recruitment and retention of the workforce
- Support the delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan
The two new GP hubs will boost NHS South Yorkshire’s capacity to deliver quality healthcare services in Doncaster, ensuring that primary care services continue to reflect and adapt to patient needs.
Anthony Fitzgerald, Executive Place Director for Doncaster, NHS South Yorkshire said:
“This is great news for our area for both our patients and staff. The two new hubs will provide patients with high quality modern healthcare facilities.
“It is vital that our services meet the demands and needs of our communities and this advancement will help us continue to serve our community with the best possible, efficient healthcare.”
Susan Simpson, the new Practice Manager at West End Clinic echoes her predecessor, Chris Jones’s thoughts on how the two new plots would ‘Enable better access, improve patient confidentiality, and increase privacy for people with learning disabilities’.
Susan also feels it ‘Encourages a holistic collaborative approach to enhance patient care and offer alternative care pathways in line with the NHS forward view, and contracting requirements.’
Patients will still see their own GPs but will have access to more modern facilities and a wider choice of health services that better reflect the needs of the local populations.