Plans for a new £67 million health and care hub for the North East of Glasgow have moved a step closer.

The Scottish Government has today approved the Outline Business Case for the new North East Hub Health and Care Centre which will be built on the site of the former Parkhead Hospital.

Once complete, the hub will be home to three GP practices, as well as specialist services to support children, adult community care groups, older people, mental health, addictions, criminal justice and homelessness services as well as health improvement activity – all delivered by a range of public and third sector organisations. There will also be community spaces including a café and Parkhead Library will be relocated to a new space within the hub from its current location.

The new hub will improve access to services and better integrate health and social work teams and services and the voluntary and charity sectors.

Welcoming the news, Tom Steele, Director of Estates and Facilities at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “This is a welcome development in our plans to provide a new hub designed to improve the health and wellbeing of people and communities across the North East of Glasgow.

“The hub will be the largest primary care development we’ve ever committed to and a pioneering project, as our first ever net zero carbon facility. It is our firm belief that the hub will be a beacon for sustainability, as well as a focal point for improving lives within the local area.

“By co-locating teams and services in one place, people will be able to access the support they need, alongside excellent community resources, helping to reduce inequality and improve health.”

The hub will be the largest primary care development in the history of NHSGGC and will be a leader in sustainability and the Board’s first zero carbon facility. The design proposals have been developed to provide a zero carbon facility which meets Glasgow City Council Gold Standard and supports the Board’s sustainability targets through a range of measures including the use of air source heat pumps and electricity generated by solar panels.

The development of the Hub will support a tiered model of care across the entire health and social care system, with care beginning in the person’s home and moving out to universal, locally delivered community services in the hub, which will include traditionally hospital-based and specialist services.  The final stage of specialist hospital delivered care will involve sourcing the most appropriate service across the range available within the West of Scotland.

The model of care governing services operating out of the North East hub will:

• Enable health, social care and third sector services to work together to promote early identification of need, early intervention and joined up working to support children and families, and deliver the aspirations of Getting it Right For Every Child.
• Facilitate the development of neighbourhood teams for older people’s services, and improve partnership working between health and social care services to support people to remain in their own homes as long as possible, prevent admission to hospitals, and support speedy discharge from hospital and re-enablement in the community.
• Provide a range of flexible facilities for adult services and will promote improved joint working between mental health, drug and alcohol recovery services, criminal justice social work services, pharmacy services and general practice. These services are currently located in a number of locations across the north east, which creates barriers to effective collaborative working for the benefit of service users who often have multiple and complex needs.
• Build on the existing initiatives that work to reduce poverty; provide a joined up learning and education centre; deliver acute hospital care; facilitate the development of multi-disciplinary teams in primary care; provide a treatment and care hub; and facilitate connectivity between health and social care services to deliver a “place-based” approach across a range of public and third sector organisations.
• Include GP practices with multi-disciplinary teams and community pharmacists.
• Include community spaces, a library and café.

Councillor Mhairi Hunter, City Convener for Health and Social Care Integration, said: “We have engaged with communities across the North East of Glasgow to ensure their voice was heard long before we committed to these ambitious plans. The result is an ambitious new centre, a hub that will bring services and facilities together to build an incredible asset for the area.

“Our ambition is to ensure that everyone in Glasgow can lead healthier and more fulfilled lives and the new hub and the services it will provide will help us to achieve that.”

The Scottish Government will fund the majority of the project, with Glasgow City Council providing £2.5 million to relocate the existing Parkhead Library within the new hub.

Councillor David McDonald, Depute Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow Life, said: “I’m delighted that the Scottish Government has backed the plans for this state-of-the-art neighbourhood facility. The new North East Hub is a great example of co-locating services and partnership working, and will offer a one-stop-shop for a range of services from Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Life and HSCP.

 “Libraries are at the heart of how we support the people of Glasgow to better engage with their communities, creating opportunities for people of all ages to gain access to information and resources to help them build and live better lives.

“Glasgow City Council has invested £2.5 million into the North East Hub to relocate Parkhead Library, helping to ensure that this vital public library remains at the heart of this fantastic community asset.”

 It is hoped that the new hub will be open to the public in 2024.