PLANNING permission has been granted for the new integrated healthcare facilities at Ellen Badger Hospital in Shipston.
The new development aims to offer a range of services including a Health and Wellbeing Centre while creating shared spaces for community nursing teams and Shipston Home Nursing.
There will also be outpatients and treatment rooms for physiotherapy, specialist nurses and other health professionals including mental health clinicians.
South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT) spokeswoman Sophie Gilkes said: “I am pleased that we have been granted planning permission as the next step in our journey to deliver more integrated care in Warwickshire.
“Working so closely alongside our GP colleagues on this project has shown us the potential for new ways to integrate healthcare in a way that wouldn’t be possible in many other areas, so this is a really unique and exciting way of doing things.”
Shipston resident and SWFT elected governor Mike Wells welcomed the news.
He added: “Seeing the trust and medical centre working closely together on this development demonstrates how the community really are at the centre of what they want to achieve.
“I hope everyone takes the opportunity to get involved and we are able to create a community owned Health and Wellbeing Centre driven by local people.”
Changes to redevelopment plans for the Ellen Badger hospital sparked controversy last year when bosses scaled back on plans for in-patient facilities.
The plans were split into two phases, with the new GP facility and wellbeing hub forming the first and a second phase involving redeveloping in-patient facilities, potentially off the table.
The trust argued the phased approach was the only way forward, and reassessments would only stall its progress and potentially stop the project entirely.
Visit www.swft.nhs.uk/our-hospitals/ellen-badger-hospital/ellen-badger-hospital-development-plans for more information.
