FUNDS to bring an integrated GP surgery to one of Slough’s most deprived areas have been approved by cabinet members.
In September, councillors approved plans to remodel the Britwell Community Centre’s halls to make room for both the Avenue Medical Centre and Britwell Clinic.
This transformation work on the community centre is estimated to be £3 million – which part of it will be funded by NHS England’s Estate Technology and Transformation fund.
The council says the current Avenue Medical Centre’s premises are too small for their registered patient list of 7,432 and by relocating to this ‘Britwell Hub’, all the services they offer will be in a single ‘modern fit for purpose’ building and be delivered in an integrated way.
READ MORE: Britwell could see community centre changed to GP surgery
At Monday’s (January 18) cabinet meeting, it was heard new services will be integrated into this new hub such as mental health services for local people as well as adding respiratory and blood clinics, physiotherapy, maternity services, diabetes and medicine support, and social prescribing.
According to Dr Jim O’Donnell from East Berkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, 80 per cent of the Britwell population live in deprivation and depression is more than double than the Slough average, standing at 12.4 per cent.
Britwell’s population average life expectancy is six years less than in Langley – which has the best life expectancy in the borough.
Respiratory conditions are 50 per cent higher in prevalence compared with the rest of Slough.
He said: “That is saying something because Slough already is an area of high prevalence in all of those.”
Dr O’Donnell added: “What this project will enable us to do is bring people together from across the extended team working to improve the health outcomes of the population.
“We already had some success in our efforts because we have been aware of this data for about 10 years before the 2011 census and it is improving – but my, it needs to improve and needs to improve further.”
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With cabinet’s approval, the commencement of construction will begin on March 1, and is expected to be completed by December 23.
The existing community halls will move into the Slough Children’s Trust Service contact centre – who will be relocated to the Cippenham Community Centre.
Part of the Britwell clinic site will be released for the possibility of six new homes and the medical centre building will still be used as an administrative hub.
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