A DECISION on the planning application for the new doctors’ surgery and health services unit in Leigh Park is expected within the next few weeks.
If approved, the Primary Care Development (PCD) will include an extended modern GP surgery, combining the Eastleigh Surgery and the White Horse Surgery with a range of other health care services all under one roof.
The planning application for the new PCD was submitted in July and a decision was expected to be made by the 12th October. However, Wiltshire Council is still processing the application and hopes to be in a position to issue a decision notice within two or three weeks.
The search for a site for a new surgery has been on for many years, and the development will bring new facilities to Westbury and give the practice the space it desperately needs. However, concerns have been raised over the distance of the site from the town centre, and the transportation issues that arise as a result. Both the steering group and community groups have been working to address these issues.
The PCD will accommodate all the services that are currently provided from Eastleigh and White Horse Surgery and in addition to this, there will be a number of new services available that Westbury people currently have to travel to other towns to access.
The services available will be:
• 8 GPs from the existing surgeries (so people will continue to see their family doctor), plus a GP in training
• Nurse practitioners, who are able to see, treat and prescribe for patients
• Nurses, providing a wide range of services from family planning to asthma care
• Consultant outpatient clinics
• A minor surgery suite, which will be used by staff and visiting secondary care consultants
• The Westbury and Warminster Neighbourhood Teams (who provide community healthcare to patients in their own homes)
• A mobile diagnostics centre, for screening services and diagnostic tests
• Community midwives, providing antenatal and postnatal care
• Health visitors
• Outpatient X-ray facilities for patients under the care of specialists at Salisbury District Hospital
• A stand-by point for the Ambulance Service
• A dental surgery, which will extend to three dentists on site, providing NHS and private dental services
• Primary care counselling services
• Lifestyle management services, including diet, exercise advice and smoking cessation support.
