New Walsall £12million medical centre – believed to be biggest of its kind in country – opens doors

Hatherton Medical Centre, in Hatherton Street, has seen four existing GP practices merged under one roof to serve just under 30,000 patients.

The old Limes Medical Centre, Lichfield Street Surgery and Sycamore House Medical Centre have now merged as one practice – Umbrella Medical – and are joined by Saddlers Surgery in the facility.

The centre, which has taken over the former Challenge Building that had sat empty for years, boasts dozens of treatment rooms, consulting rooms and meeting space as well as a 110 on-site car park.

More services are due to move into the building in the coming weeks with a pharmacy set to come in December and sexual health services by the end of this month.

Bosses said the new centre will give greater access to a variety of services and medical specialists as well as reducing waiting times for patients.

The project started back in 2016, when funding was secured from NHS England. Support was then gained from the local NHS as well as patients and the building was purchased from the council.

After a soft launch, patients have been moving in over the past few weeks.  There are 15 GPs based at Hatherton, as part of more than 150-strong staff.

It is believed to be the largest primary care centre in the country and has been given the thumbs up by both staff and patients.

Dr Martin Stevens, Senior GP Partner at Umbrella Medical, said: “We are delighted to finally open our long awaited medical centre.

“Over 90 per cent of our patient consultations are face to face and our existing surgeries are full to capacity.

“Our new surgery gives us more consulting and treatment rooms allowing us to see more patients. We will also be able to provide an improved range of services with access to a bigger choice of clinicians.”

He added: “Staff love it. Two of the buildings we occupied pre-dated the NHS.

“They were GP surgeries before the NHS existed and hadn’t really modernised and weren’t suitable for people with physical disabilities and they weren’t up to infection control standards, they were cramped and didn’t install any air of confidence.

“Regardless of how good the services we provided were, we were always limited by our accommodation and space.

“So far, patient feedback has been positive. It is far more easily accessible than we previously were.”

Joan Nock, a patients at The Limes and a member of the Patient Representation Group, said: “You could get the Limes in one corner of this building and there was no parking.

“I think the new centre is beautiful, it’s an amazing achievement, easy to get in and out, the access is easy.

“The facilities are excellent – everything is here. I can’t see any downsides to it. It’s perhaps the largest of its kind in the country.”

Sarb Basi, Director of Primary Care for the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, said: “We’re really pleased to be supporting this long-awaited project at a time when demand for GP appointments is greater than ever.

“The opening of this state-of-the art medical centre is an important development for the local community, providing much-needed extra space and additional modern facilities for both patients and staff.

“It will also allow the practices to meet the growth in patient demand as well as offer additional care to the benefit of patients and help us to integrate with wider health services in the area.”

And Councillor Gary Flint, Portfolio Holder for Wellbeing, Leisure and Public Spaces, said: “The new state of the art Hatherton Medical Centre will be an asset to the borough, serving the community from a central and well-connected location.

“It’s especially exciting to hear that the facility meets the sustainable BREEAM Excellent standards and helps us to move towards our target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“The facilities available at the centre will make a huge difference to healthcare services for Walsall people and I am delighted to see the completion of the project.”