Construction work has now begun for the much-anticipated new St Clements GP surgery in Winchester.
The multi-million-pound building is being built on the car park site on the corner of Friarsgate and Upper Brook Street, replacing the current St Clement surgery on Tanner Street. Construction work began on Monday 6 March 2023.
A breaking ground event took place at the site on the new development yesterday (Monday 13 March). MP Steve Brine, local actor Tommy Jessop and number of representatives from the practice, Winchester City Council and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) attended the event.
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.
Specialist primary healthcare developer and long-term landlord, Assura, will be delivering the new facility.
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’s 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 also Winchester City Council. We are looking forward to providing regular updates as the project progresses.”
Fay Johnson, Practice Manager at St Clements surgery said: “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.”
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 for not just for St Clements practice and their patients, but also for the wider Winchester Community who will be able to access a range of Health & Wellbeing services.”
Leader of Winchester City Council, Cllr Martin Tod said: “This is excellent news and reflects a long-held desire by the council to reuse this car park for better health facilities. Improving access to healthcare is a big priority for us. I am delighted to see this project coming to fruition.”
The new development will include state-of-the-art accommodation for staff and patients, featuring 15 consulting rooms, 3 treatment rooms, admin facilities and larger reception and waiting areas. The new building also includes an interactive health hub, space for Primary Care Network Services, a Chiropractor plus other ancillary health services. Expansion space has also been built in for additional services to be delivered from the newbuild in the future too.
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 and are seeing patients.
The new building will be delivered to the latest sustainability standards and energy efficient with a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating for its performance. It will have the ability to generate onsite energy through the installation of PV Panels on the roof and is designed with regard to Net Zero Carbon principles.
Further information and progress updates can be found on the practice’s dedicated project website: www.stclementsmedicalbuild.co.uk.
