Publish date: 9 February 2022
Wallsend Health Centre reaches construction milestone
A key milestone has been marked in the construction of a new health centre in Wallsend as the building reaches its peak.
The new Hadrian Health Centre will become home to local GP practices Park Road Medical Centre and Portugal Place Health Centre, serving more than 20,000 patients. It will bring together in one building local clinicians and a range of community health services helping transform health and community services in the area.
The £9.5 million development, located in the heart of Wallsend, now sees the three-storey steel structure and concrete roof deck complete, with over 112 tonnes of hot rolled steel used for the building’s frame.
Health partners in the project include the two GP practices, NHS North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Community Services. They joined the projects construction contractor Esh Construction and Assura, the national primary care premises specialist who will also work as the practices’ long-term premises partner to celebrate progress on the building.
Dr Kerry Burnett, GP from Park Road Medical Practice, said: “It’s great to reach this significant milestone in the development of Hadrian Health Centre. It has been a real team effort to get to this point on such an important project which will benefit so many patients and their families.
“Bringing together various NHS services into one location will make it easier for the local community to access the support and treatment they need. We’re really excited to see the progress being made and are looking forward to welcoming our patients with pride when it has been completed.”
The premises is being built to modern, environmentally friendly, state-of-the-art specifications. Solar photo voltaic (PV) panels will be installed on the roof to capture energy for the all-electric facility – limiting electricity required from the grid and reducing carbon footprint.
Stuart Leslie, Divisional Director at Esh Construction, said: “This is the first development Esh will deliver in partnership with Assura, and we are pleased to celebrate this key milestone with all health partners. The next phase will see the internal fit out commence which will include the construction of partitions and installation of services, while externally the masonry work will get underway.”
Andrew Cooper, Senior Development Manager at Assura, said: “It’s always a special milestone to reach a building’s highest point, and it’s great that many of those people responsible for this fantastic facility are here to share it today. Later this year, the building will be opening its doors, adding capacity for the NHS and supporting delivery of healthcare services in a state-of-the-art environment.”