Have your say on proposals for a new GP Medical Centre at the Bedford Health Village
NHS Bedfordshire and five GP practices in the local area have been working together to draw up plans for a new GP Medical Centre. If this goes ahead, the five GP practices below would move from their current premises in the area to a new building at Bedford Health Village on Kimbolton Road by 2012/13:
- De Parys Medical Centre, 23 De Parys Avenue, Bedford MK40 2TX
- Pemberley Surgery, 32 Pemberley Avenue, Bedford MK40 2LA
- Goldington Avenue Surgery, 85 Goldington Avenue, Bedford. MK40 3DB
- 2 Goldington Road Surgery, Bedford MK40 3NG
- Lansdowne Road Surgery, 6 Lansdowne Road, Bedford, MK40 2BU
All of the GP practices would continue as individual practices offering the same services they do now, but working under one roof in a spacious, purpose built GP Medical Centre. As well as providing better facilities, the GP Medical Centre would also be a sustainable carbon neutral building to replace the current less energy efficient premises.
The new centre would be designed to ensure that each GP practice retains its own identity with its own separate area within the building. This means patients would be able to see the same doctors, nurses, reception and administration staff as they currently do. Another benefit of the centre would be the opportunity for the GP practices to further develop and extend the services they provide, which might not be possible at their current premises.
The GP Medical Centre would sit alongside a number of other health and care facilities in Bedford Health Village.
The Bedford Health Village is a phased major redevelopment of a nine acre NHS site on Kimbolton Road. There are already a range of NHS services on the site, including:
- Residential mental health facilities
- Mental health outpatients and a day centre
- Intermediate care and rehabilitation
- Specialist day centre for people with acquired brain injury
- Dental access centre and specialist dentistry
- Physiotherapy and occupational therapy
- Phlebotomy centre
Further development over the next two decades will create a health campus in the heart of Bedford, designed to meet the needs of local people. The first new development is the Enhanced Services Centre, which is nearing completion.
Enhanced services, flexibility and working together
The Enhanced Services Centre (ESC) has been designed with flexibility, partnerships and collaborative working in mind. It will encourage shared use of space, shared services and shared responsibility for improving the health and well-being of local residents. It will not host an A&E service or GP services. Local GPs may run and host specialist clinics within the ESC.
The ESC has been designed for services commissioned by NHS Bedfordshire (PCT) and potentially others, such as the local authority and voluntary organisations. This will incorporate both clinical healthcare and community health and well being services for the people of Bedford and the wider Bedfordshire community. Services that could be based in the ESC, include:
- Community chronic pain services
- Dermatology
- Diagnostic suite
- Memory clinics
- Minor operations under local anaesthetic
- Musculoskeletal services
- Ophthalmology and community eye services
- Psychological therapies
- Retinal screening service
- Sight Concern Bedfordshire (including Visual Aids Service)
- Bedford Borough Council (Visual Impairment Team)
- Wound care
What do you think?
The Enhanced Services Centre will have the flexibility to deliver different services as needs change over time. We would like to hear your thoughts on this way of providing services and on what services you think it should include. You can do this in a number of ways:
How to have your say
Proposals for the GP Medical Centre are at an early stage and if you are a patient of any of the GP practices involved, we want to know what you think.
We also want to hear views about the services we could provide from the Enhanced Services Centre.
You can tell us what you think:
- By post – if you are registered with one of the five GP practices, you should have received a leaflet from your practice with a freepost response form to complete and return free of charge or you can write to us at:
BHV
NHS Bedfordshire
Freepost NAT 16245
Bedford MK40 2BR
- Online – fill in the online questionnaire
- By email – write to us at enquiries@bedfordshire.nhs.uk
- In person – come to one of our information and feedback drop-in sessions, where you can talk to NHS Bedfordshire staff about the proposals. Practice managers or GPs from the practices will also be on hand at specific times to hear your views and answer your questions.
| When | Where | Who will be there |
|---|---|---|
| 3 November, 2-8pm | St Andrews Church, Kimbolton Road | • NHS Bedfordshire • Goldington Avenue Surgery • Pemberley Surgery |
| 4 November, 12-6pm | Bedford Rugby Club, Goldington Road | • NHS Bedfordshier • Goldington Road Surgery • De Parys Medical Centre |
| 24 November, 2-8pm | Quaker House, Lansdowne Road | • NHS Bedfordshire • Lansdowne Road Surgery |
If you would like additional feedback forms for others in your family, you can download copies and use our freepost address to post it back to us:
Further information
If you would like to receive information and updates about the project directly, please contact Vivienne Payne on 01234 795 813, or email Gillian.Prager@miltonkeynes.nhs.uk