First sod is cut on £16 million health centre

As part of Banbridge Health Village, the new Health and Care Centre will accommodate around 220 staff, providing a range of community services including Allied Health Professional (AHP) services, a rehabilitation suite, two dental surgeries, children and young people’s services, older people’s services, specialist nursing and a promoting well-being service.

Speaking as he cut the first sod at the site on Thursday (December 19), Health Minister Edwin Poots said: “This new Health and Care Centre will provide a range of accessible, integrated services, dramatically improving health and care within the Banbridge community. That is the core vision of Transforming Your Care - to deliver care closer to people’s homes, reduce unnecessary hospitalisation, improve chronic disease management, early diagnosis and treatment and, ultimately, to support people to live as independently as possible.”

The day care centre will provide a modern environment including therapy space, sensory rooms and a secure landscaped garden with wheelchair access.

The Minister said: “The new day care facility for people with learning and physical disabilities is a very welcome development for individuals and their families. The facility will provide dedicated wings for 46 learning disability places and for 20 physical disability places and will complement the range of community-based day opportunities available in Banbridge.”

Minister Poots said that the new centre in Banbridge is part of a planned programme of health and care centre developments that will support the implementation of ‘Transforming Your Care’ (TYC).

He said: “Transforming Your Care set out a ‘hub and spoke’ model to support the delivery of high quality integrated primary and community care services. Banbridge is to form a hub in this model, improving local service delivery.”

Mairead McAlinden, Chief Executive of the Southern Health and Social Care Trust said that the new Banbridge Health and Care Centre and Day Care Centre will provide for the replacement of three existing facilities in Banbridge – the Health Centre at Scarva Street, Copperfields Centre for adults with a physical disability and Banbridge Social Education Centre for adults with learning disabilities.

She said: “I would like to thank the Minister for funding this impressive project. I would also like to acknowledge the commitment and support of Banbridge District Council and local MLAs and MPs.

“The Southern Trust is delighted that the Banbridge Health and Care Centre and Day Care Centre will complete the Banbridge Health Village development. The new build will provide our staff and service users with excellent facilities, in which we will continue to provide a wide range of local, high quality services. This means that, together with our GP colleagues, we will be able to meet the vast majority of the health and social needs of Banbridge on the Health Village site when the scheme is completed in Autumn 2015.”