Colchester health hub to support four GP surgeries

Colchester Medical Practice, which cares for around 38,800 patients across the city, is set to open the new facility on Friday.

It will house “new and specialised” services, including physiotherapy, adult and children’s mental health care and counselling, cancer support, prescription drug dependency services and health coaching.

The practice currently runs an extensive patient list across four sites, including Castle Gardens Medical Centre, Shrub End Surgery, Wimpole Road Surgery and Parsons Heath Medical Practice.

The new health and wellbeing hub

The new hub, which is sited inside a converted residential bungalow across a single floor, is located next door to the Parsons Heath surgery.

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The practice first applied to Colchester Council for permission to convert and extend the building in 2019.

Richard Miller, business manager at Colchester Medical Practice, said the 173 sq m facility will house six rooms where patients can be seen privately, alongside a small administration office.

He told the Gazette the hub would free up space at the four surgeries, allowing for new doctors and nurses to be recruited.

He added: “We have opened the hub to house additional roles within primary care networks as part of investment in the primary care workforce.

“This will enable us to move these new, more specialised roles into the hub in order to release much-needed space to accommodate new doctors and nurses as our patient numbers increase across the four surgeries.

“New jobs will be created in time which will provide new and better care for our patients.”

The hub is set to offer pre-booked appointments to patients from all four of the practice’s surgeries and will expand the service outside of “traditional core GP hours”.

Total investment in the hub, including the purchase of the original old bungalow, stands at around £1.2 million.

Mr Miller said the hub would help the surgeries “maintain a high level of patient access into the future”.

He said: “We already provide open access every weekday morning across our four surgeries, so our patients are always guaranteed to get a same day appointment if they attend and register to see a GP or Advanced Nurse Practitioner between 8am and 10am each day.

“We also offer pre-booked appointments in the afternoons which are usually available within seven days.”

The hub is due to be officially opened by Colchester MP Will Quince at 2pm on Friday in a ceremony attended by practice staff and health officials.