Why are we considering an extension?
Amazingly, it is now 20 years since we first considered moving from our old surgery in Fore Street; 15 years since the first plans were drawn up; and over 10 years since we moved into Leatside. Much has changed in this time. Some examples of this change are:
· Over 2000 more people have registered with us as patients.
· We open longer hours.
· We spend a lot more time helping people with chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma, monitoring their health and adjusting therapies.
· We do a lot more to investigate cardiac and blood pressure problems; causes of allergies; types of skin lesions; types and severity of respiratory disease; and diagnostic work generally.
· An increase in the number of contacts our doctors and nurses have with patients: from around 60,000 per year to 90,000 per year.
· An increase in the number of doctors from 6 to 10; and an increase in the number of nurses and healthcare assistants from 3 to 9.
When we worked on the design of Leatside, 15 years ago, we knew much of this change was coming and so made sure we had room to expand. Mostly we were successful with this, but we have now almost reached the capacity of the building and so need to consider how we will continue to provide services over the next 15 to 20 years. In doing this we think we need to plan for:
· A further increase in the number of people registered with us of 3000 or more.
· A further increase in the amount and type of care we give to people because of NHS plans to transfer care from hospital and specialist centres to GP Practices.
What changes to the building are we planning?
By extending the building at ground floor level and creating a first floor we will increase the overall size of the building from 1022m2 to 1602m2. This will provide us with:
· An additional 7 rooms for use by doctors and nurses immediately with the possibility of a further 6 rooms in future through changing the use of other accommodation.
· A doubling in the size of Boots Chemists who, like the GP Practice are struggling to cope with increases in the number of people using their service.
· An increase in the number of car parking spaces for use by patients from 36 to 41 and better facilities for parking bicycles.
· The opportunity to make other improvements like installing a lift to provide better access to the first floor and improving the sound proofing of consulting and treatment rooms.
· Accommodation for other individuals and organisations to provide services including:
o An opticians
o An osteopathic practice
o The private practice of some local consultants
· An opportunity to start up services to provide more specialist care currently provided in places like Torbay Hospital.
How are we going to get this done?
Not easily! The work we are planning will affect almost every part of the existing surgery. Added to this the shape of our site our surgery sits on, with only one entrance, means that it would be both very difficult and very unpleasant to carry on working here whilst the building work is underway. For this reason we have been exploring possibilities for using temporary accommodation for the six months it will take to complete the building work. To this end we have been discussing with Dairy Crest the possibility of using a building and car parks close to the railway station and have applied to South Hams District Council for planning permission. Although we have some way to go to finalise all of these plans we are hopeful that we will be able to start our project by the autumn. Through our website www.leatside.co.uk and through information sheets in the surgery we will endeavour to keep you updated on our plans.
Your thoughts..
We are interested to know what you think and particularly if there are ideas or services not mentioned in this outline that you would like us to consider. Over the next month or so we will be publishing more details on our plans so please have a look and let us know.
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