GPs, dentists, patients and members of the local community came together earlier this month to celebrate the official opening of the new Andover Medical Practice and Solent Dental Service.
Alex Whitfield, chief executive at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) officially opened the much-anticipated new building by cutting the ceremonial blue ribbon.
The building work on the new multi-million-pound redevelopment to move Andover Health Centre Medical Practice to a brand new, purpose-built wing on the site of Andover War Memorial Hospital was completed in November 2022. The new development provides a modern healthcare setting for more than 14,000 registered patients and surgery staff, as well as an NHS Special Care Dental service.
The new home for Andover Medical Practice is the result of long-term partnership working between Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB).
Alex Whitfield, chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which runs the Andover hospital, said: “The official opening was a great way for us to all come together and celebrate the new building and thank all those who have worked so hard to make it a success.
“It has been wonderful to see that this team effort has resulted in a brand-new facility for Andover. The services provided from the centre are now all up and running and will benefit local residents for years to come.”
Amanda Goddard, Practice Manager at Andover Health Centre Medical Practice said: “The big day has now arrived, and this is a huge event for us, our patients and all those people in the community who have helped our vision become a reality.
“Our existing site was not purpose-built and has long been outgrown by the community it serves. It was too small and has not enabled us to offer the full range of primary care services that we want to provide. Our new building exceeds our expectations. Our staff love it and I’m sure our patients will too.”
Ali Young, Associate Director for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) said: “We welcomed the patients into the new building back in January this year and it has been great to see local residents using their new state-of-the art facility and have access to the care and support they need.”
“This is a great example of partnership working across our Health Partners to improve care for our local residents. There are so many people we would like to thank for making this happen, from the builders to our NHS staff and our patients and the local community.
“We would also like to thank the local residents for their understanding while the construction work was taking place”.
MP Kit Malthouse, also attended the opening event said: ““We are incredibly lucky in Andover to be in the middle of such a big investment programme in our local health services. The official opening of the Andover Health Centre Medical Practice is a real milestone and is the result of lots of hard work by so many people. I want to thank and congratulate them on the huge part they are playing in our local health service success story”.
