Cranbrook to get temporary GP surgery

£150k to be made available.

Health services are currently provided at the GP practice in the Younghayes Centre, but East Devon District Council’s cabinet were told last week that it was reaching capacity.

The cabinet agreed to borrow up to £150,000 from the Enterprise Programme to enable the delivery of a temporary GP practice in Cranbrook town centre, which will enable the continued delivery of primary care services over the next five years and will also bring increased footfall to the town centre and act as a catalyst for attracting wider investment.

Andy Wood, projects director, told the cabinet last week that the GP practice in Cranbrook which operates from the Younghayes Centre is now at capacity. The temporary GP facility proposed to be built would provide sufficient space to span the gap between the current facility being at capacity and new permanent provision coming forward in line with triggers for the expansion of the town.

He said that this would happen when 3,500 new homes have been built, while currently around 2,000 are occupied.

Mr Wood said: “Project costs have been developed through a series of project meetings and are now estimated at £600,000 for the physical works, with the main funder being NHS England. NHS England have increased the amount of funding available but it is now clear that this is still short of the amount required to finally enable the project to proceed.

“In order to close the cost gap and enable the project to proceed it is proposed that up to £150,000 of funding is made available through the Enterprise Zone programme as a loan.

“It is not a primary objection of the enterprise programme to deliver healthcare services, nor is it the responsibility of the district council, but the proposals has come forward in recognition this is a last resort.

“This is an urgent requirement because of the lack of capacity at the current practice and there are significant concerns over the ability to deliver increasing patient numbers, so expanded facilities are therefore urgently required.

“The provision of primary care services is critical to any community, not least one that is also designated as a Healthy New Town.

“This investment will though enable the temporary GP facility to be delivered at pace and to meet a pressing need. It will also help to realise a wider set of benefits, not least acting as a catalyst for wider investment in the town centre and will help to fulfil the objectives of the Enterprise Zone programme.”
The cabinet supported the recommendation, with Cllr Geoff Pook saying: “It is worth remembering that health inequality is a massive problem around the area, especially for those on low income and hard to reach. To not have a health service is a massive inequality so this has to go ahead.”

Cllr Ian Thomas, leader of the council, added: “This helps the health service out of its problem and ensures the facility can be built and built this summer for the benefit of the people of Cranbrook.”

Cllr Philip Skinner, deputy leader of the council, added that he wanted to make clear that the cash was a loan and would have to be repaid. He said: “This is economic money and healthcare isn’t our bag, but we are being asked to help out. We are jumping in to help out with a healthy new town, but we don’t want to live with long term funding of healthcare, so want to make sure it is a loan.”

Mr Wood said that the terms of the how the funds are to be made available and subsequently recovered will be agreed and that as the funds will be recovered, it would represent good value for money.

The facilities are set to be installed by the summer and would be in the area where the new town centre would eventually be built. The health and wellbeing hub eventually will be built closer to the Education Campus.

The recommendations were unanimously agreed by the cabinet.