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| A £6.5m primary care centre is nearing completion in Manchester. |
Located in New Islington, Manchester’s Millennium Community in east Manchester, the 24,500 sq ft facility, across two floors, will be one of the largest Primary Care Centres in Manchester and will be finished in October 2007.
The state-of-the art £6.5m centre located on Old Mill Street, near the site of the former hospital, overlooking the new water park, has been designed and built by construction partner Laing O'Rourke in partnership with Manchester architects, Stephenson Bell. The new facility will replace the current Ancoats clinic and will house two of the area’s key GP practices. Other services will include minor injuries, family planning, podiatry, mental health services, and a pharmacy.
This Primary Care Centre is part of the government’s ongoing LIFT (Local Improvement Finance Trust) programme to modernise primary care facilities through joint public and private funding partnerships. The capital funding is provided by ExcellCare, a joint venture between Equion, a division of John Laing plc, and the Bank of Scotland. Manchester Primary Care NHS Trust (PCT) will run, manage and staff the centre and pay the revenue funding. The Manchester, Salford and Trafford area has the largest LIFT scheme in the country, with 11 schemes being built as part of a £75 million investment.
Laura Roberts, Chief Executive of Manchester PCT, said: "The Ancoats Primary Care Centre is one of a number of new health facilities that we are developing across Manchester. They are part of our plans to provide more accessible modern health services for the people in the city.
"The aim is to strengthen and improve current health services and provide more services closer to where people live, reducing the need to go to hospital. We feel that this is the way forward for healthcare in Manchester."
The Primary Care Centre is in New Islington, Manchester’s Millennium Community, which in turn is one of English Partnerships’ seven Millennium Communities but the centre will serve a much wider population. New Islington is a partnership between national regeneration agency English Partnerships, Urban Splash and New East Manchester Ltd together with appointed social landlord, Manchester Methodist Housing Association.
