A ground–breaking healthcare centre in Port Talbot is opening this month, which will be one of the first of its kind in Wales to offer a range of primary healthcare, dental, social and community services under one roof.

 

Holder Mathias Architects was commissioned by Haven Health Properties to develop a template for a Primary Care Resource Centre, which includes GP surgeries, dental surgery, physiotherapy centre, podiatry and orthotic treatment, social workers, the voluntary sector and a pharmacy.

 

The centre, commissioned by Neath Port Talbot Local Health Board, is a 62,000 sq ft building with 60 treatment rooms, which will incorporate many of the existing primary care services in the area including four GP surgeries. It will also allow procedures not ordinarily available at GP surgeries to be carried out.

 

Emma Jackson, project leader for Holder Mathias, said: “This is a new concept in healthcare, which will allow people access to a one–stop shop for primary care needs.

 

“Our brief was to create a landmark building in Port Talbot that would engage with the people who will use the centre. The distinctive curve of the building echoes the landscape it is set in as well as welcoming people into the building. It contains a cafe and community meeting space, which we hope will allow people to take ownership of the space.”

 

A public private partnership project developed by Haven Health Properties, the initial site in Port Talbot will serve 50,000 people in the area and may influence the development of other sites across Wales.

 

Representatives from the GP practices, the local authority, the Local Health Board, the Trust, the Council for Voluntary Services, the local Pharmacy Committee and the local Dental Committee were consulted, and the outcomes used to inform the overall design strategy.

 

Michael Luckley, from Haven Health Properties, said: “This excellent facility allows people in Port Talbot to get all of their local primary healthcare services in one building.  It is one of several developments we are working on for the NHS in Wales, and reflects the increasing importance of primary care in the healthcare community.”

 

Holder Mathias has also designed a Resource Centre in Connah’s Quay, North Wales and a Locality Centre in Treharris, South Wales. Both projects have been commissioned by Haven Health Properties. Working within the design principles of the overall scheme, each building will have its own identity and will respond to the site’s setting.

01/10/2009