Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, has cut the ribbon on our state of the art new surgery building in the city.
Mr Burnham officially opened West Gorton Medical Centre’s new premises on Clowes Street, less than half a mile down the street from its previous run-down building, at a celebration with the practice team, patients, local community members and those who worked on the building.
The new surgery building, delivered by Assura, uses sustainable design to cut running costs for heating and lighting – aiming to become the country’s first zero carbon doctor’s surgery building.
Mayor Burnham said: “As a former health secretary, I’ve opened many health centres across the country but I want to say to everybody this is one of the most impressive…I’ve ever opened.
“This is the best of the NHS and it’s right that it’s here in this community where we have some of the biggest health needs in Greater Manchester. It’s clearly a team effort that built this place...you can see the community behind you.
“It’s zero carbon but that’s important…because the health service has to send a message out about that. The time has come to challenge these issues…and the National Health Service does need to set a lead.
“Manchester likes to do things differently…and I want to point to this medical centre and say from the grassroots upwards, that’s the way to go.”
The design of the new surgery building, which includes a pharmacy and training space, is believed to be a national first. Our Development Manager, Paul Warwick, says: “This project is particularly exciting for us – not just because it’s bringing much-needed space and modern facilities for this practice team, who had been working out of a very old, unfit building for a long time, but also because of its innovative design. If these features perform in the way we expect, West Gorton will be the home of the country’s first GP surgery building to generate its own power for heating and lighting, helping to keep costs down for the NHS.”
Practice Manager Julie Jefferson says: “This is such an important step for our practice - the whole of this area has been remodelled and regenerated and there’s lots more housing to go up so we will have more patients coming through our doors – we need a modern space and facilities to look after them.
“Our old building used an awful lot of energy so we’re hoping that the new design will help us control energy costs and help the environment at the same time. Patients are really excited; we’ve spent a lot of time asking them what they wanted to see in the new building and we’ve been able to accommodate lots of their ideas.”
West Gorton’s 1,191 sq ft. practice was designed by West Hart Partnership and delivered in partnership with LSP Developments in a year-long build.
Andy Burnham - NHS of the 21st Century from Assura plc on Vimeo.