Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
GP ‘super surgery’ lined up for hospital grounds
Multimillion-pound plan to replace two outdated practices Exclusive
A multimillion-pound GP “super surgery” is being lined up at Kent and Canterbury Hospital to replace two struggling city centre practices.
The scheme, submitted by the Canterbury Medical Practice, involves the closure of the group’s outdated Cossington House and London Road surgeries.
Practice bosses admit they are poorly rated by the Care Quality Commission and “challenged” to deliver growing primary care services, or to cope with an anticipated increase in patient numbers.
Now a planning application has been lodged with the city council for a new state-of-the-art medical practice and pharmacy on the site of the K&C staff car park, which would be relocated in the hospital grounds. It would provide 19 consulting rooms and be capable of having 15,000 patients on its books.
It would also accommodate integrated health and community care teams, relieving pressure on hospital beds, especially those used by the elderly.
The trust says an area of scrubland on the hospital site will be converted into parking space for staff. Other areas will also be used to ensure that neither staff or patients lose any parking places.
The Canterbury Medical Practice also runs surgeries in Bridge and Littlebourne.
One of its managing partners, Dr Mark Jones, says the new facilities in Canterbury will bring numerous improvements and advantages for patients and allow greater integration of services, especially for the elderly.
“We are very excited at the prospect of a modern, new surgery because Cossington House and London Road are challenged to provide services,” he said.
“There is a national move to offer more services in primary and community care within general practice.
‘The new combined surgery will bring significant benefits for patients and staff’
“For example, we already provide things like physiotherapy and ultrasound diagnostics at Bridge.
“Already we have around 12,000 patients at London Road and Cossington House, which is growing constantly, and the new combined surgery will cater for more and bring significant benefits for patients and staff.”
The idea of a single super surgery, capable of serving more than 15,000 patients, was first discussed in 2012 but the high cost of development land due to housing demand stalled progress.
Dr Jones said the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust has offered a site at the K&C and NHS England is providing funding support to make the project affordable.
The plan also has the backing of the Canterbury and Coastal Clinical Commissioning Group and other Canterbury GP practices.
But the two-storey building would not be a medical centre like that at Estuary View at Whitstable, where there is an outpatients and minor injuries service.
Dr Jones said: “If the planning process goes smoothly, we want to be in there and working in April 2019.”
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