'Extra rooms at Leighton Buzzard Health Centre would be sticking plaster - not solution'

Six extra rooms could be made available at the Leighton Buzzard Health Centre site in Bassett Road, according to Bedfordshire Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (ICB).

It said in an online statement: “The outline business case focused on the long-term options for developing local healthcare estate.

“This would be funded by the sale of the Department of Health and Social Care-owned Vandyke Road site in the town.

“A new integrated same-day minor illness service based at the local health centre began last month. This is being run by a range of healthcare practitioners, including paramedics, nurses and pharmacists.

“These appointments are available daily and bookable via the patient’s registered practice on the day for acute minor illness, such as chest infections and rashes. All clinics are overseen by a supervising GP.

“This service has been supported by creating an extra clinical room at the local health centre from a previously under-used area of the building. That’s a partnership project led by the owners of the building, NHS Property Services.

“More winter pressure clinics are being delivered to help meet increased demand. These are running daily as on the day and pre-bookable appointments, while an additional 1,200 appointments have been made available since November 1st,” explained the ICB.

“Further GP resource has been secured by the primary care network (PCN), working across all three practices. The ICB is exploring converting further unused administrative space in the health centre into extra space for seeing patients.

“Architectural designs have been developed and NHS Property Services has gone out to tender for these works, planned to be funded by a time-limited and ring-fenced national budget.

“If the tender process is successful, then a further six clinical rooms will be created in the health centre by this spring. That would significantly boost plans for expanding the local same day minor illness service.

“We expect to know within six weeks whether the project can proceed, based on the outcome of the tender process. If successful, it’s anticipated that selling the Vandyke Road land, on which the options presented in the business case rely, wouldn’t be necessary.

“The business case showed the sale of that site would be insufficient to fund a new facility, and the only potentially affordable way to use that finance would be to redevelop the current health centre.”

Liberal Democrat Leighton Linslade South councillor Emma Holland-Lindsay, who chairs Central Bedfordshore Council’s social care, health and housing overview and scrutiny committee, said: “This latest frustrating update from the ICB yet again fails to offer any hope of the proper health facilities our growing town needs.

“After months of waiting and delay, and with more than £100,000 spent on the wordy outline business case, we’re no closer to getting the additional GP surgery and health hub we urgently need.

“We’re deeply concerned the potential six further rooms at the difficult to access Bassett Road site are no more than a sticking plaster not a solution, far short of what’s really needed.”