Construction starts this month (April 2021) on a brand new medical centre for existing and future patients in Coxheath and the surrounding area.
The new facility at Greensand Health Centre will create additional GP capacity and transform health care services. It is expected to open early next year.
The GP practice currently operates from surgeries at Heath Road, Coxheath, and Boughton Lane, Loose, having vacated outdated premises at Stockett Lane at the end of 2020. The practice has outgrown the main site in Heath Road and is unable to expand to allow for extra services and new ways of working in the future.
The number of patients registered at Greensand has steadily grown over recent years and around 1,000 new houses are expected to be built within the practice boundary in the next 10 years. The practice plans to continue to expand to support this growth in the local population.
Expanding community focus
Juliette Norton, Practice Manager, said: “We are really excited about this new home for our practice. Not only will it help us in our day to day work, it will enable us to expand our focus on health prevention and social prescribing and build on our links with the community, for example through a volunteer-led therapy garden, cafe and reception space that will be available to community support groups.”
A priority scheme
Alison Burchell, Deputy Director of Primary Care at NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “This scheme has been a priority for a number of years and we are delighted that the plans are starting to become reality. It enables a proactive approach to providing increased space for general practice services and workforce to support the expected population growth in the area.”
NHS Kent and Medway CCG has worked closely with Maidstone Borough Council to agree the use of Section 106 contributions for this scheme, which was a key project in the council’s Infrastructure Delivery Plan. A total of 11 separate Section 106 healthcare contributions from housing developers, totalling £482,000, will be used towards the costs of building and installing the necessary IT infrastructure.
Environmentally friendly design
The scheme is being delivered by Medical Centre Developments (MCD). Development Director Nigel Ford said: “We are delighted to be the development partner to Greensand Health Centre, drawing on our many years of surgery development expertise, to create a state-of-the-art health centre that staff and patients of Greensand can be very proud of. It will incorporate a number of environmentally friendly features, including heating via air source heat pumps, LED lighting throughout and electric vehicle charging points.”
The new centre is expected to open in spring 2022.
The Greensand GP practice has outgrown its current premises in Coxheath