Medical centre for Bersted unveiled

Plans have been revealed for the replacement of Bersted Green Surgery.

The building will replace the current 21-year-old premises which have been condemned as unsuitable.

Accomodation is so limited that three portable buildings have to be used to enable the GPs to carry out their work. Every room is fully occupied every day of the week.

The new building is intended to be located close to the eastern and southern boundaries of the existing site in Durlston Drive.

A planning application for the scheme '“ for which housing developers will provide 300,000 '“ has been submitted to Arun District Council.

Civils, which specialises in developing medical centres, has drawn up the proposals.

They feature the redevelopment of the health centre and the demolition of the current changing rooms which serve the neighbouring Laburnum Grove playing field.

It is intended to change the use of a 625sq m strip of the playing field to form part of the health centre. This will take its boundary into line with the next door pub, The Family Tree. New changing rooms will be built.

A pharmacy is also proposed for the medical centre. It is likely the current pharmacy will move from its location on the opposite side of Durlston Drive.

The proposed two-storey building will have 1,640sq m of space compared to the existing 630sq m on one floor.

A statement by Civils says: "The new health centre is urgently needed to replace the existing facilities.

"The practice is operating out of premises that provide less than half the recommended floor space for a practice of this size. This needs to be resolved urgently.

"There is inadequate consulting space. There are not enough treatment rooms.

"Health visitors have to run their baby clinics in the waiting room. Doctors sometimes do not have office space to do paperwork if their room is being used by someone else to provide patient spaces."

The surgery houses eight GPs, six nurses and office staff who number about 30 in all.

This compares to the five doctors, single practice nurse and a small number of other workers when the current building opened in 1986.

The practice serves some 10,150 patients. More than an average number are aged above 65.

The number of patients is likely to increase by at 1,400 patients when the site six development of 650 homes in North Bersted is completed.

"Not only does the standard of the existing accommodation in the health centre not meet current requirements, it is completely unsuited to providing suitable facilities in the future," the statement adds.

The developers of this estate '“ Persimmon Homes and the Berkeley Group '“ will contribute funds towards the health centre to the NHS' Western Sussex Primary Care Trust once the 105th dwelling sold to private buyers is occupied.

Spending the money on the Bersted Green Surgery is seen by the health service as better than taking four or five years to create a new surgery among the housing.