A large extension to support a Whitstable GP practice in meeting the current and future needs of the town’s growing population officially opened with a celebratory display of balloons.
The second extension at Chestfield Medical Centre provides the GP team and primary care services with six additional consulting rooms, a total of 18 clinical treatment rooms, a more spacious reception and waiting area and generally improved, more accessible lay-out.
The work was funded through the NHS England Estates and Technology Transformation Fund, (ETTF) and the GP partners. Chestfield Medical Centre is part of the Whitstable Medical Practice, which also has sites at Estuary View and Whitstable Health Centre, with a total of 23 GP partners working across the three sites.
'Wow' factor
Chestfield Medical Centre Practice Manager George Blandford said: “Alongside the building of the extension, we took the decision to also refurbish the whole of downstairs, so that the whole premises felt brand new, and not just part of it. There has been a real wow factor with our lovely new glass lobby.
“The extra space has made a great difference to us all. One that was noticeable straight away was that we can now offer all services to our registered patients from this building. In the past, we sometimes had to refer patients to one of our other surgeries for a blood test for example, as we didn’t have space to do it here, but that is no longer happening, which is much better for patients as it saves them an unnecessary journey.”
Watch GP partner Dr David Gould’s walk-around tour of the new extension.
Meeting needs of growing local population
Chestfield Medical Centre opened 20 years ago and was first extended after 10 years. The population has continued to grow and it was identified that a further extension would be needed to provide capacity for the anticipated number of new residents to the area through new housing developments.
Deputy Director of Primary Care Alison Burchell said: “We were delighted to be able to secure ETTF funding towards this much-needed extension. We are all very pleased to see this project reach completion as it offers an improved facility and experience for patients when accessing GP services."
Patients and health care teams at Chestfield Medical Centre celebrate the opening of the new extension
The new reception and waiting area gives additional space and a more accessible environment
