A Manchester GP practice has opened its doors in a state-of-the-art new building – in a move believed to be the first of its kind in the country.
West Gorton Medical Centre has begun seeing patients in its brand new, purpose-built building on Clowes Street, less than half a mile down the street from its previous run-down premises.
The new surgery building, which was delivered by us and includes a pharmacy and training space, uses sustainable design to cut running costs for heating and lighting – aiming to become the country’s first zero carbon doctor’s surgery building.
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.”
2014 research by the BMA with almost 4,500 of GP practices found that 40% felt their premises are inadequate – making it a struggle to provide even basic GP services. Six in ten GPs reported having to share desks or consulting rooms, with four in ten reporting that this limits the number of appointments they can offer. Seven in ten said their premises are too small to deliver more services. A separate report on patients’ experiences of primary care highlights concerns around physical access to GP surgeries.
Improved primary care buildings are critical to the new models of care and NHS transformation laid out in the Five Year Forward View, the GP Forward View and in Sustainability and Transformation Plans across the country.
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.”
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.
West Gorton development - Practice Manager, Julie Jefferson from Assura plc on Vimeo.