Published date: 08 July 2022
Reconfiguring a health centre to repurpose vacant space and co-locate more services
Erith Health and Wellbeing Centre, London
Background
Site: Erith Health and Wellbeing Centre, an NHSPS freehold property
Customers: Riverside P m S, South East London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
NHSPS representatives: Nicol Ruchti (Senior Portfolio Optimisation Manager), Amanda Challis (Senior Property Manager), Anne Cawley (Facilities Services Manager), Belinda Cameron (Senior Construction Manager)
Customer feedback
“It’s fantastic that we were able to make the case for these much-needed improvements to Erith Health and Wellbeing Centre. I’m grateful to colleagues from our Local Care Partnership, representing a number of organisations, who have come together to improve space at the centre, enabling healthcare providers to better meet local needs, increase access to services and provide Bexley residents with a more modern, patient-friendly and sustainable facility.”
Stuart Rowbotham, Place Based Director – Bexley, NHS South East London Clinical Commissioning
Challenge
The local health economy was looking to provide more health services within their local health hub, including MSK and a range of primary care services, within higher quality accommodation to improve patient experience.
Erith Health Centre had vacant space across its ground and first floor and needed reconfiguration to make better use of the space to accommodate a wider range of primary care services.
Solution
NHS Property Services worked with our customers to build a business case for the Estates and Technology Transformation Fund (ETTF), building the case as well as supporting qualifying factors such as getting leases in place. Upon unlocking this funding, we added some more of our own landlord investment to support the construction programme.
Our Construction team then designed and oversaw the delivery of this £400,000 scheme, reconfiguring and refurbishing 400 sqm including new sinks, flooring, and decoration. We managed these works whilst keeping the health centre fully operational, minimising disruption to service delivery throughout.
Result
Completing in October 2021, the newly reconfigured space now offers a more modern and integrated care setting, repurposing vacant space to better serve the patient list of 5,000. The site can now accommodate a physiotherapist as well as the GP to enable more collaborative working and joined-up care for patients.
It supports the local Primary Care Network strategy of moving more services to community settings and has enabled Oxleas Foundation Trust to move services from nearby Erith Hospital to take pressure off acute settings as well as offering them more modern accommodation.
Creating Healthy Places
Erith Health and Wellbeing Centre is part of our Healthy Places programme, a national programme of transformational projects for the NHS estate.
Learn more about Healthy Places, explore our projects, and get in touch with the team.
