Opening date for Newbury "super surgery" revealed

Double-surgery will open its doors on April 4

The merger of two of Newbury’s surgeries into one “super surgery” is just months away, the Newbury Weekly News has learned.

Plans for the closure of both St Mary’s and Northcroft surgeries and the development of one new GP practice at Strawberry Hill House have been in the pipeline since they were given the green light by councillors in October 2014.

At the time, highways officers refused to support the project, arguing that the proposed new surgery at former offices in Old Bath Road would have a cumulative impact on road safety.

NHS England South confirmed this week that the Strawberry Hill Medical Centre, as it is now to be known, will open on Monday, April 4, with all patients at, St Mary’s and Northcroft relocating to the one building.

Local GPs argue that the merger of the new surgery will mean improved patient access to GPs, nurses and other primary care support services, housed in a new health facility.

Senior GP and partner at St Mary’s Road Surgery, Dr Maria Hyde, said: “This merger will bring great benefits for our patients.

“We’ll be offering a diverse range of services from a first-class, modern medical centre.

“There’s a growing population in Newbury and by merging our practices and moving to this new building, we can ensure there is a sustainable and future-proofed health facility in Newbury for generations to come.”

Director of commissioning at NHS England, Debra Elliott, said: “This is a great example of practices widening the pool of clinical expertise and ensuring a resilient and extended service, meaning patients will have greater choice and increased access to GPs, nurses and other staff.”

The new medical centre will include a minor surgery suite, improved “back office” capabilities and a more spacious environment, allowing for increased patient capacity.

The current premises at St Mary’s surgery is 294 square metres and Northcroft Surgery is 186 square metres.

The new surgery will have just over 1,400 square metres and will allow for more consulting and treatment rooms than the two surgeries currently have.

To facilitate the move, a new telephone system and contact number will be implemented for patients, publicised over the next two months as the practices prepare to move to the new building.

Patients registered with Northcroft Surgery or St Mary’s Surgery will automatically be registered at Strawberry Hill, keeping their existing GP.

Further information is to be published on each practice’s website.

Chairman of St Mary’s Surgery’s Patient Participation Group, Jan Hinks, said: “We’ve worked hard to ensure patient needs are understood from the outset of this project.

“Strawberry Hill Medical Centre is now well placed to respond to future healthcare needs for many years to come.”

Meanwhile, plans to convert St Mary’s Surgery, into 14 flats, branded “ugly” by Newbury Town Council recently, are still pending consideration by West Berkshire Council.

The application, submitted by Carter Jonas on behalf of applicant Paul Sievers and others, proposes to demolish the existing building to build a three-storey block of flats, containing six one-bed homes and eight two-bed homes.