A state-of-the-art health and care facility is to be built in Devizes, Wiltshire, after the plans were officially given the green light.
Having been the subject of lengthy discussions, the approval of the plans means building work on the new Devizes Health Centre in Marshall Road can begin within weeks.
Construction work is expected to last approximately 12 months, with the doors to the new facility set to open to patients next summer.
Dr Andrew Girdher, clinical chairman, said: “The new Devizes Health Centre will be a facility the whole community can be proud of and benefit from, and I am delighted that building work on this long-awaited project is soon to be underway.
The building will be one of the first of this new type of healthcare facility, bringing a wide range of services into the community
“As the flagship location for health and care in Devizes, the centre will ensure patients have access to modern facilities and state-of-the-art services while also providing professionals with much-needed additional clinical space, which will allow teams to provide an even-greater level of care.”
The 1,588sq m, two-storey building, designed by architectural practice, DKA, will be one of the region’s first integrated care centres and will offer a home to a range of health and care providers.
As well as replacing the existing services at Devizes Community Hospital, the new facility will give local GPs additional clinical space needed for everyday care and the room to provide a number of enhanced services, including phlebotomy, physiotherapy, audiology, podiatry, diabetes, and mental health.
The building of the new Devizes Health Centre will be overseen by NHS Property Services, which has worked with the clinical commissioning group over the last few years to get the £10.9m project off the ground.
The new Devizes Health Centre will be a facility the whole community can be proud of and benefit from, and I am delighted that building work on this long-awaited project is soon to be underway
Funding for the project was jointly agreed by NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care earlier this month.
Adrian Abbs, senior architect at DKA, said: “The building will be one of the first of this new type of healthcare facility, bringing a wide range of services into the community.
“Filling a role between a GP surgery and a community hospital, the building has no wards, but provides a range of outpatient and GP services.”
The centre is set to open next summer.