Work on a new medical centre in Stroud town centre could get underway later in the year following the exchange of contracts between two GP surgeries and the developer. 

 

The new surgery building on King Street will entail the total refurbishment and partial rebuild of an existing building and will be home to two of the town’s established GP practices, Locking Hill Surgery and Stroud Valleys Family Practice. 

 

Both practices have outgrown their current surgery buildings, and with the local population set to increase over the next 15 years, the GP partners and NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) identified the need to move to more modern premises. 

 

The much-needed extra space in the new building will enable the two practices to extend the range of services they provide, expand training opportunities and support patients with complex needs who require more specialist treatment, as well as being a hub for the local community.  

 

Dr Ewart Lewis, GP Partner at Locking Hill Surgery, said:

 

“For many years, lack of space has hindered the services we can offer; the new premises will allow us to expand our teams, train more GPs and offer more services to our patients, for example diagnostics, minor surgery, contraception, mental health support, physiotherapy and social prescribing. 

 

It will also be a much more attractive and modern environment, and the facilities will be designed to support patients with mobility issues, disabilities, memory loss and sensory impairment, whilst also reducing our carbon footprint.” 

Dr Anne Hampton, GP Partner at Stroud Valleys Family Practice said:

 

“This development is great news for our patients and staff. The additional consulting and treatment rooms will help us to meet the ever-increasing health and care needs of our patients and enable more doctors, nurses and other health care professionals to receive training and educational updates. 

 

The improved reception and waiting areas will be much more comfortable, with better levels of security and areas for privacy.”

 

The development is an integral part of the regeneration of the centre of Stroud being delivered by Dransfield Properties. The new location is very accessible and visible, with 360 parking spaces available in the adjacent Five Valleys Shopping Centre, which will be free of charge to anyone who has an appointment at the surgery. 

 

It’s also close to public transport, a taxi rank and other amenities in the town, including pharmacies. The new medical centre also has space for an integrated pharmacy. 

 

The new modern setting and facilities will also offer enhanced infection control standards for both patients and staff.

 

Patients will be able to access the new medical centre from the King Street entrance or by the top floor of the multi-story car park at Five Valleys which is currently being improved and remodelled to create more spaces.

 

Director of Primary Care at NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Helen Goodey said:

 

“The CCG is really pleased that this development has been approved. It will be great for the local area and will mean that patients can benefit from modern facilities that support the provision of high quality care.”

 

Mark Dransfield, Managing Director at Dransfield Properties, said: 

 

“We are delighted to be working with the CCG and the teams from two fantastic local practices on the new medical centre for Stroud. This is a key part of our wider improvements in the town centre and the feedback we have had through the consultation process has been extremely positive. 

 

“We’re looking forward to starting work on this part of the development and delivering real change in terms of town centre facilities and services.”

 

The new centre should be operational by late 2021, with capacity to provide GP services to over 15,000 patients.

 

Both practices are currently working collaboratively with other local practices on a range of new initiatives.  The new premises will support various plans including the recruitment of additional pharmacists, review how support is provided to care homes in the area and explore new ways of working with specialist hospital services. 

 

The planning application for the new medical centre has been approved by the local authority and it’s hoped that work can start on site by the end of the year.