Works to improve six of Glasgow’s community health and care centres are being rolled-out, with a focus on improving consultation and clinical areas as well as improvements to office and admin spaces.

Projects will range in size and scale and cover health and care centres in Baillieston, Bridgeton, Shettleston, Govan and Elderpark, Govanhill and Thornliebank, with work scheduled to be complete by the end of the year. The work is being managed by Hub West Scotland through Redpath Construction and Fleming Buildings.

Gary Dover, Assistant Chief Officer for Primary Care and Early Intervention, Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), welcomed the new investment and commented that: “The improved accommodation will help us provide high quality care   for patients and improved facilities for our staff. The additional facilities will support the implementation of the 2018 GP contract as they will allow the expansion of multi-disciplinary working in primary care, by creating more rooms in which physiotherapists, community links workers and pharmacists can see their patients.” 

John Donnelly, Head of Capital Planning at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) said: “This planned investment is part of our programme to improve our primary care estate. The work will bring significant benefits to both patients and staff, delivering better outcomes for the communities we serve.”
The projects consist of alterations, refurbishment and repair of the buildings to ensure that they’re maintained to a high standard and to ensure that treatment and care can be delivered in an environment appropriate to post-pandemic patient needs.

Iain Marley, Chief Executive of Hub West Scotland commented: “Hub West warmly welcomes the opportunity to continue our valued partnership with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde through the delivery of this important programme. The investment of £4.4 million will address maintenance requirements and deliver improvements to existing facilities, including the provision of additional consulting and treatment rooms and agile office accommodation. We’re delighted to be working with Redpath Construction on our first project together and continuing our relationship with Fleming Buildings on these essential projects.”

Susan Cardwell from Redpath Construction said: “This is now our fifth NHSGGC project but our first of hopefully many in primary care. Our team is looking forward to building strong relationships with Hub West Scotland and delivering an exemplar level of service for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.”

The 2018 GP contract was introduced in April 2018 in response to the growing pressures within primary care that are threatening sustainability, such as growing demands on the service and concerns about GP recruitment, early retirement and retention. The aim of the contract is to enable GPs to operate as ‘expert medical generalists’ by diverting work that can best be done by others, leaving GPs with more capacity to care for people with complex needs and to operate as senior clinical leaders of extended multi-disciplinary teams. Scotland’s health and social care partnerships have received funding to support the expansion of multi-disciplinary working in primary care; in Glasgow over the past four years we have recruited over 350 practitioners, such as pharmacists, advanced nurse practitioners, community links workers and physiotherapists.  More details are available on Glasgow City HSCP’s Primary Care Improvement Plan.