New purpose-built GP practice invests in patients’ future
A brand new, purpose-built GP practice opens for the people of Crediton and the surrounding areas this week thanks to collaborative working between local GPs and the wider NHS.
Located on Joseph Locke Way, it enables the clinical teams from Redlands Primary Care to provide patients with the care they need more efficiently and easily from a modern, purpose-built facility.
The new building will future-proof the delivery of healthcare locally for Crediton and the surrounding communities for decades to come.
The new practice will also offer a much wider range of services than they were previously able to from their Newcombes and Chiddenbrook sites in the town.
The two existing practices merged earlier this year to become Redlands Primary Care and the move to the new site brings them into one facility.
The branch surgery at Thorverton remains open.
People registered with the practice will be contacted directly to confirm details about the move and how to get in touch.
The project, costing £8 million, is one of a number of sites across the country to receive major NHS funding to improve facilities.
The project has been spearheaded by Dr Jo Harris and Dr Peter Twomey, GPs at Redland Primary Care, who are investing in their patients’ future with the new building, designed and created to deliver the best and most up to date healthcare for the people of the Crediton area.
Dr Peter Twomey has been part of the team leading the project from the start and he says: “We needed a ‘state of the art’, modern building with the capacity to continue to match demand and provide sustainable general practice into the future. It will give us the setting to further develop the multi-disciplinary team so that the right patient gets to the right professional.”
Dr Harris added “It is really exciting to see our vision take a tangible shape after such a long planning phase. Everyone at both practices is being absolutely incredible – it is a very challenging time for everyone in healthcare at the moment anyway and the upheaval of packing and moving has added an additional strain, so we really are asking a lot of our team. We are very lucky to have such dedicated staff. I think we can all see the opportunities that this will bring for the future of healthcare in Crediton.”
Eighty percent of the funding has come from a long term loan from the NHS England Estates and Technology Transformation Fund (ETTF) - a national funding programme to support GP practices to make improvements to services for local patients including more modern, expanded facilities, use of new technologies. Additional funding has been loaned by Mid-Devon District Council.
Ian Biggs, Head of Primary Care for NHS England and NHS Improvement South West, said: “I am delighted residents from Crediton and the surrounding area can now benefit from this fantastic, state of the art health hub.
“The new building was made possible thanks to the national Estates and Technology Transformation Fund and will ensure general practice in the area is fit for the future.”
The building has been designed around the services that the clinical team want to offer patients. As well as being a spacious and modern building, this new practice will provide a range of flexible facilities and services under one roof.
NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group Chair Dr Paul Johnson said: “Demand for GP appointments is greater than ever.
“This new building will enable the primary care team in Crediton to provide patients with the most appropriate care when and where they need it and offers a wider range of services closer to home.
“The two practices in Crediton have worked tirelessly over the last few years to make their vision a reality for a joined-up modern healthcare facility for the people of the town, and their leadership will have a direct impact on the health and wellbeing of their patients.”
The population of Crediton is expected to rise significantly over the next five years. The new facility will provide patients with a state-of-the-art health hub that can tackle the current and future challenges for health and care for a much larger population than it currently serves.
Services will be provided from the new GP practice that are much broader than those traditionally offered by GP practices. There will be a greater focus on prevention and wellbeing services, with more community and specialist clinics located on site, working much more closely with the general practice team.
The new L shaped building provides better physical access for frail and elderly people, with ample parking, and is accessible through public transport. It includes 16 multi-purpose clinical rooms across two floors as well as eight telephone/video consultation booths that can be used by different clinicians.
The new site offers expanded general practice teams, including advanced nurse practitioners and paramedics, improving access to clinicians at the practice.
The spacious waiting room contains devices and literature to help patients get to grips with new NHS technology, fill out online consultation forms and learn more about self-care.
There are facilities for training GPs and nurses, rooms for patient groups to meet, and additional office space and IT equipment for staff.
Mayor of Crediton, Councillor Liz Brookes-Hocking, said: “On behalf of the town, I’d like to say how pleased I am at the opening of the new Redlands GP practice. It seems no time at all since we first heard about the plans for the surgeries to merge and develop better shared services in one building. In fact, it was back in 2016 and this has been a huge development and an ambitious undertaking.
“As a council, we do what we can to support better care at home for older people and health and well-being for all sections of our community. The new GP practice will be key to ensuring the delivery of services that we all need in the future and I wish the staff every success going forwards.”
