A consortium led by Kajima Partnerships has received planning consent to build a new £30m community health centre in Newry, County Down
The health centre in Newry will occupy around 12,500 sq m and will bring together much-needed health services to the local area.
It will also house up to eight individual GP practices.
The Community Treatment and Care Centre, as it will be known, will provide a number of out-patient services, mental health, children’s health and social services, as well as physiotherapy, a genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic, dentistry, diabetic clinic and hydrotherapy.
Reducing pressure on healthcare services
The site for the new health centre is located within easy reach of Newry city centre and is easily accessible with strong transport connections.
Newry Community Treatment and Care Centre will also further help to relieve critical pressures on acute care settings, minimise bed blocking and reduce waiting times by providing effective access to step-down care and integrated out-patient services.
Kajima Partnerships, who specialise in delivering and managing innovative buildings for the public sector, is the main developer. They have partnered with O’Hare & McGovern to form GPG O’Hare, the consortium that has been selected by the Southern Health and Social Care Trust to build and manage the project.
With the consortium expecting to move onsite this year, the health centre in Newry is expected to generate numerous jobs during its two-year construction timeline, and once the centre is up and running.
Jitesh Patel, social care sector lead at Kajima Partnerships, said: “We are delighted to be working as part of the GPG O’Hare consortium and drawing on our collective experience in delivering community treatment and care services.
“Newry Community Treatment and Care Centre will provide vital access to step-down care, out-patient treatment, mental health and children’s services that will be crucial to supporting the local community after Covid-19.
“As a shovel-ready project, the new health centre will also help the local economy recover from the impact of coronavirus.
“The pandemic has shown the true importance of robust, resilient and flexible integrated healthcare and community services, which is why we are proud to be working hard to begin construction, create new jobs and provide first class services to people in Newry and the surrounding area.”
