THE White Horse Health Centre is celebrating its first six months as it continues to develop the services offered from the facility.
The £5.7million facility in Mane Way opened to the public last September, bringing a range of health services to the town in a purpose-built facility.
GPs and nurses have moved to the centre, as have services formerly housed at Westbury Hospital. New services, such as a mobile chemotherapy unit and X-ray service, have cut down travelling times for patients who would previously have had to travel to hospital.
Practice manager Debbie Riddiford said, “I think that all the staff are settled in now and are enjoying working in this new environment – it’s light, airy, pleasant, and lovely to work in. We are very proud of it.
“We get an overwhelming response [from patients] about what a wonderful building it is. We acknowledge there are still some patients that find travelling here difficult, and we are working with the area board and the council on transport issues.”
Alongside GPs and nurses, services offered from the building include a dentist with NHS places, and pharmacy. Other services include orthopaedic outpatients, rheumatology outpatients, community midwives providing antenatal and postnatal care, X-ray facility, and a psychology service.
The health centre can also provide day surgery for hernia, carpel tunnel, and vasectomies, while a mobile chemotherapy unit visits the site.
Other services include a children’s nurse and community paediatric clinics, a speak therapist, and a ‘No Worries’ health clinic for young people.
Over the coming months, the practice hopes to develop its stop smoking clinic. It will also increase its focus on patients with dementia, and already works with Alzheimers Support, a Wiltshire charity which seeks to enhance life for people with dementia.
The practice is also in discussions with Bath Royal United Hospital to introduce a diabetes clinic.
