£184 million needed to bring Bedfordshire GP practices up to average capacity

But the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (BLMK ICB) only receives a fraction of that annually, a meeting heard.

Representatives from BLMK ICB attended yesterday’s Social Care, Health and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Monday, February 17) to give an update on the provision of health services in Central Bedfordshire.

Nikki Barnes, associate director for estates, BLMK ICB, told the committee that last year the ICB carried out a “big assessment” of its primary care infrastructure.

“We concluded that to bring all of our GP practices in Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes up to average capacity levels would cost about £184 million,” she said.

“And we receive a capital budget of about £2 million a year as an ICB.

“You can see we are absolutely on the back foot.”

Ms Barnes said Central Bedfordshire Council has a “good track record” of securing section 106 funding over the last 5 to 10 years.

Section 106 (S106) money is a sum paid by developers to help fund community and social infrastructure

“We’ve got £6 million section 106 in the bank, well, the council has,” she said.

“So you can see the scale of the challenge ahead of us… of how can we absolutely maximise our existing facilities,” she said.

An ICB report presented to the committee gave a summary of the progress of primary care estate projects across Central Bedfordshire.

The new Integrated Same-Day Minor Illness Service in Leighton Buzzard is “popular” with local residents, and “minor building works” created an extra clinical room in the Health Centre.

There are plans to create six additional clinical rooms by late Spring 2025.

The report said local authorities are coordinating with Wixams developers to establish a permanent healthcare facility, with up to £2.75m in S106 funding expected by 2030.

The new Cranfield surgery is completed, and is awaiting for the agreements required for operation.

The report added that various expansion and improvement projects are being undertaken in Houghton Regis, Lower Stondon, Potton & Gamlingay, Flitwick, Shefford, and Caddington using S106 funding to increase clinical space.

And for Biggleswade, discussions continue on strategic healthcare planning.

The report added that NHS England data shows a 10.4 per cent increase in GP appointments across Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes reflective of the “continuous efforts to enhance healthcare access”.