Construction work has started on the new St Clements GP surgery in Winchester – 15 years after the project was first mooted.

The multi-million-pound building is being built on the carpark site on the corner of Friarsgate and Upper Brook Street, replacing the current St Clement surgery in Tanner Street.

Winchester City Council agreed to sell the site to a specialist in 2020 to enable the project to go ahead, with previous well-publicised efforts to deliver the scheme dating back over 15 years. 

The surgery has around 17,000 registered patients and is currently based only a few hundred yards away from the new facility, so disruption to patients will be minimal.

To mark the start of construction on the site, a ground-breaking ceremony took place last week attended by MP Steve Brine; local actor, Tommy Jessop; and representatives from the practice, Winchester City Council, and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB).

Specialist primary healthcare developer and long-term landlord, Assura, will be delivering the new facility. 

A group effort

Jon Webb, development director at Assura, said “We are delighted to be able play our part in taking this much-needed development forward and excited to finally now move on to the construction phase of the project.

“There has been a huge group effort to get to this stage from all the local stakeholders, especially so from the practice, the NHS Integrated Care Board, and Winchester City Council and we are looking forward to providing regular updates as the project progresses.” 

Fay Johnson, practice manager at St Clements surgery, added: “This is a massive step forward and is great news for both the staff and patients at St Clements.

“Our current building is no longer fit for purpose and the new development will really allow us to continue improving care for our patients and to deliver the service we want to for people in Winchester.” 

And Ali Young, associate director for health improvement and place across North & Mid Hampshire at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board, said: “I am delighted to see this project moving forward and for the staff at the St Clements surgery to have a state-of-the-art facility to provide patients with the care and support they need.“This is a great opportunity, not just for St Clements practice and its patients, but also for the wider Winchester community who will be able to access a range of health and wellbeing services.”

Energy efficient

The new development will include 15 consulting rooms, three treatment rooms, admin facilities, and larger reception and waiting areas.

It will also feature an interactive health hub, space for Primary Care Network services, a chiropractor, and other ancillary health services.

And expansion space has also been built in for additional services to be delivered from the new-build in the future.

As part of the relocation to a new facility, the NHS and Assura have co-commissioned a study by Wessex AHSN to assess the benefits the new facility will bring, with further research planned once the GPs have moved in and are seeing patients. 

Sustainability and energy efficiency are key to the project, too.

Designed to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating, the scheme will generate onsite energy through the installation of solar panels on the roof.