THERE will be big changes to health services in Westbury with a new Primary Care Development planned to open at the end of 2011.
Eastleigh Surgery and the White Horse Surgery will be combined under one roof in a new development in Leigh Park. The centre will not only accommodate the services that are currently available at the surgeries, but will also include a new range of services to Westbury, saving the need to travel further afield to receive more specialised healthcare.
The new Primary Care Development (PCD) will be a modern, purpose-built centre; a key feature of which will be the extra space and room for expansion. Patients at the existing surgeries will continue to be able to continue to see their own doctor as well as nurses and health visitors.
The new site will also house a dental surgery, outpatient x-ray facilities, consultant outpatient clinics, a minor surgery suite, and a stand-by point for the Ambulance Service. The Westbury and Warminster Neighbourhood teams, who provide community healthcare to patients in their own homes, will also be based at the site.
Debbie Riddiford, practice manager at Eastleigh Surgery said, “The practice and the steering group have been working to provide a better heath service in Westbury for a long time. The important message is that it’s not more of the same or just a move – it’s extending and enhancing services, with new services that just aren’t available in Westbury at the moment.”
“The big issue for us here at the moment is space. We will have space to provide lots more services – the building will be three times the size of our current site.”
Bill Fanning from the Westbury Steering Group sees the development as the progress in health services that Westbury has been waiting for. “It’s such a good idea,” he said. “We are behind other places and this is us trying to catch up. What’s on offer is an excellent package.”
The new site will have plenty of parking, and the steering group will be looking closely at the transport infrastructure to ensure all patients can get to the PCD.
The search for a new site has been going on for several years, and these new plans have been created by a steering group with members from NHS Wiltshire, the Westbury Group Practice, Patients’ Forum, League of Friends, and Westbury Town Council.
Open Day
People can hear more about the new development at an open day on Wednesday 26th May at the Paragon Hall from 3.00pm-6.15pm.
