Poots views plans for new Health and Care Centre

The new Centre will be built on the Braid Valley Hospital site and construction is expected to be completed by spring 2014.

It will provide a range of community services including GP services, diagnostic services, community dentistry, podiatry, speech and language services, physiotherapy services, challenging behaviour services and community addictions unit.

An Out of Hours (Doctor Urgent Care) service will also be provided from the new Centre.

Health Minister Edwin Poots said: “This much needed facility will replace outdated accommodation and dramatically improve the provision and delivery of health care and social services to people in Ballymena and surrounding area. It will assist in my objective, reinforced in the Transforming Your Care document, of having more care provided outside of the hospital setting.”

Primary and community care services are currently provided from a number of locations across the Ballymena area. Mr Poots said the new centre would “bring together a range of services in a modern, accessible, one-stop facility”.

“GP services, selected acute outpatient and diagnostic services and a large number of multidisciplinary teams will be available under one roof,” said the Minister, who announced funding for the building in July, last year.

“It is my aim to provide a full range of health and social care services outside the acute sector, in the community closer to where people live or work,” said Mr Poots.

“This allows people to live independently for longer in their own homes, promotes good health, reduces unnecessary hospitalisation, improves chronic disease management and allows for early diagnosis and treatment.

“I am confident that this new facility will allow staff to manage patients’ conditions more effectively in the community through the co-location and integration of the GP practices and multi disciplinary teams,” he added.

Joining the Minister yesterday was Ballymena Councillor Tommy Nicholl who, as chairman of the Health Matters Committee, has been campaigning for such a centre for 24 years.

He said: “I am obviously delighted that after 24 years of guiding the committee that this has come to fruition and I certainly feel that the Minister and the Trust have delivered a wonderful boost for the people of Ballymena and of the Glens.

“I want to thank the Minister and the Trust and also the Council for their support and the local MLAs and MPs for the part they played in securing this Health and Care Centre.

“The money - £25m - is in place and work is due to start and we have been told that two years from today, the first phase of this Centre will open,” said Mr Nicholl.