Building work well underway on new Wallsend health centre

left to right: Dr Richard Scott clinical chair, NHS North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group; Brian Joyce, construction director Esh Construction; Dr Nathalie Ellis, GP Portugal Place Health Centre; Sandra Dowling, practice manager, Park Road Medical Centre; Amanda Tremble, district nurse Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Carlos Venegas, practice manager, Portugal Place Health Centre; Andrew Cooper, senior development manager Assura; and Grant Whyte, construction project manager, Esh Construction.

Building work is now well underway on the new Hadrian Health Centre, which will become the home for Park Road Medical Practice and Portugal Place Health Centre as well as a range of community health services for more than 20,000 patients.

The £9.2million project is being delivered by Esh Construction, alongside Assura – the national primary care premises specialist who will also work as the practices’ long-term premises partner.

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.

The new building is being built to modern, environmentally friendly, state-of-the-art specifications.

Located on a site next to the Forum Shopping Centre in the centre of Wallsend, the three-story building will bring together local clinicians and a range of community health services.

Dr Nathalie Ellis, GP from Portugal Place Health Centre, said: “To finally see the foundations in place is really exciting.

"It’s been a vision on paper for a long time, but to see the outline of the building at the site shows it’s well on its way.

"We really hope the patients from both practices will follow its progress over the months ahead, as this is all about providing them with a better healthcare environment.”

Brian Joyce, construction director at Esh Construction, said: “We’re delighted to be involved in a scheme which will bring huge benefits to the Wallsend community.

"As a local contractor, we will harness the benefits of a strong regional presence and supply chain to deliver quality social and economic value throughout this project.”

Andrew Cooper, senior development manager, Assura said: “We’re fortunate to be working with clinical partners who share a vision for the future of primary and community care services and this centre will create a welcoming, modern and sustainable setting to support them.”

Dr Richard Scott, clinical chair NHS North Tyneside CCG said: “It’s fantastic that work on the ground is now well underway and we are looking forward to watching it progress over the coming months.

"This new centre will certainly be a welcome boost to local health services as well helping the further regeneration of Wallsend town centre.”

The project is expected to complete in Summer 2022.