Newton Heath Health Centre in Manchester has undergone a £162,000 expansion to increase clinical capacity

Recently completed, the project marks the first phase of a wider programme of works at the clinic, which is located in a rapidly-expanding area of the city.

And the need for additional space was made even more urgent when a local GP practice moved to the site after vacating its nearby premises earlier this year.

Making space

Manchester Health and Care Commissioning (MHCC) and Manchester Local Care Organisation (MLCO) have been working with the facility’s landlord and project manager, NHS Property Services (NHSPS), for over a year to identify potential solutions to address the demand for additional space.

The works on site involved reconfiguring the existing space to better accommodate the growing demand for services. 

In delivering this additional capacity, two further clinical rooms were also created, existing clinical rooms were refurbished, and a reception area for the new GP tenant was constructed.

MHCC was able to provide additional investment to enable the GP Practice to be the first in Greater Manchester to fully digitise its ‘Lloyd George’ patient records and remove them from site, freeing up additional valuable clinical space.

COVID response

This investment also enabled the health centre to play a key role in the COVID-19 response by becoming one of Manchester’s eight community vaccination hubs. 

Daniel Burdett, regional partnership director at NHS Property Services, said: “We are delighted to have been able to deliver the expansion works to Newton Heath Health Centre, and to have accommodated the new GP tenant which recently moved to the facility.

 “We hope that the works will help increase healthcare capacity at the site, and with the refurbishment of the clinical rooms, provide an enhanced environment for local people to receive high-quality care in.”