A DECISION has been taken to move ahead with relocating GP services in Stranraer onto the nearby Galloway Community Hospital campus.
This follows extensive feasibility work and engagement with staff, patients and service users, and comes as an offer of capital funding to support the move has been provided by the Scottish Government.
Linda Bunney, Head of the region’s Primary Care Services, said: “This decision is about ensuring that GP services located in Stranraer are supported, and are able to develop for the future.”
“This move applies to the GP services currently housed in Waverley Medical Centre which is a rented building next to the campus, including services such as the pilot GP walk-in service. The move will mean these vital services can be delivered from the hospital campus, which is a site fully owned and operated by the NHS.
“This provides a secure base for these services, on a site providing a wide range of health services for Wigtownshire in the years ahead.”
Plans are still in the process of being fully developed, but every existing service will continue to be provided from Galloway Community Hospital campus. However, accommodating GP services will require some reconfiguration on the campus site – but not to the main hospital itself.
GP services currently housed in Waverley Medical Centre are set to move into the Darataigh building, with construction work to create extra space within the building and also to create a new 79-space car park – in addition to the existing hospital main car park.
This means that the Oaktree Family Centre currently based at Darataigh will relocate to the nearby Innistaigh building, and that in turn the Community Mental Health Team will move to completely occupy the locality offices building.
The reconfiguration will also mean changes for Rhins Home Teams staff, who will join the Oaktree Family Centre in the Innistaigh building.
NHS Dumfries and Galloway Chief Operating Officer Nicole Hamlet said: “Extensive and detailed conversations have been taking place with a range of staffing over recent weeks in order to get an understanding of service needs, and to explore whether we could make this work.
“In addition, we’re extremely grateful to the hundreds of service users and wider members of the public who took the time to share their views and highlight what is important to them.
“Some of the considerations raised included the need to ensure adequate car parking provision on site, as well as enough space and privacy within each of the buildings. We’ve looked at this thoroughly and are confident that we meet all of these needs through the actions we have planned.
“There’s a lot of work required to take this move forward, and this will take place over coming months. Throughout all of it, we are committed to keeping staff, stakeholders and patients and service users fully informed – and keeping disruption to a minimum.
“The decision allows detailed planning and design work to move forward, with the relocation itself taking place at a later stage.
“This move will come at an initial capital cost covered by the Scottish Government, and will involve some work and disruption – but housing these services in an NHS-owned building means savings over time, and very positively creates a secure home for GP services as part of an evolving healthcare campus.”
Almost 600 responses were generated through public engagement which has informed the approaches, and continuing input is invited as work progresses to take the move forward.