Plans for 8 healthcare projects in Bedford area have 'complex challenges' and delays

Delivering Bedford borough’s eight prioritised primary care projects comes with “complex challenges” and government delays, a meeting heard.

At Wednesday’s (March 15) Health and Wellbeing Board Nikki Barnes, head of system & ICB estates, presented a report on the borough’s primary care projects.

“We’re pleased that we’ve been able to reconfirm support for eight schemes in Bedford borough, all of which are at various stages of delivery,” she said.

“These schemes aren’t without their challenges and we do have some particular complex schemes in Bedford borough.

“Obviously, we are trying to mitigate those challenges as swiftly as possible to support delivery of the eight prioritised schemes.

“The relocation of Rothsay Surgery to Union Street has been delivered and is operating successfully,” she said.

“We have the North Bedford project, which is the reprovision of the De Parys Medical Group, we have completed the full business case for that scheme.

“We’re still awaiting feedback from [NHS England and the Department for Health & Social Care(DHSC)] around that one.

Committee chair, councillor Louise Jackson (Labour, Harpur) said: “I’m really disappointed that DHSC have not come back to you about the business case for De Parys yet.

“We have been waiting for an extremely long time for that business case to be signed off and I don’t think there can be any excuse for government departments to drag their heels.

“We have a plan to deliver it and of all of these schemes this should be one of the easiest to deliver.

“Yet the government is sitting on their hands and doing absolutely nothing to move that forward,” she said.

Ms Barnes said: “For Biddenham we’ve highlighted that the developer raised viability challenges with us towards the end of last year due to increasing construction costs and some of the wider economic situation.

“We’re working with the developer and other partners at pace to agree a way forward on that scheme,” she said.

The report said it has had a long-standing ambition to relocate King Street Surgery in Kempston into more “fit-for-purpose” accommodation.

However, it added that delivering new healthcare facilities is an “involved” process and can take time.

“So in the meantime we are progressing a smaller scale project with the practice which would create some space for them at Kempston Health Centre on Halsey Road,” Ms Barnes said.

East London Foundation Trust (ELFT) left an area of London Road Health Centre last year, leaving void space in the building.

The report said it has been agreed that this space can be made available to both London Road Surgery (who are also based in the building) and to EastBedford Primary Care Network (PCN).

Some minor refurbishment works will be carried out early in 2023/24, and legal occupation arrangements will be finalised.

This, the report claimed, will enable the practice and the PCN to start operating from the space by Summer 2023.

“And the final scheme in the list is Great Barford,” Ms Barnes said.

“We’re just starting to agree on the next steps with the council around how we take forward that partnership project.”

The report said the preferred option is to work in partnership with the council to repurpose a vacant school site in the village.