Patients in Bensham are now benefitting from the now complete development of a new building at one of Gatehead’s largest medical practises.
Oxford Terrace and Rawling Road Medical Group, serving 17,500 patients across the two sites, have now transformed the Rawling Road branch. A new extension has been built and completely refurbished.
The practice, which was formed as a merger of the two medical groups in 2015, secured funding from the NHS’s Estates and Technology Transformation Fund. The development was also supported by Gateshead Council, and the Newcastle and Gateshead CCG (now called NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board).
The newly developed site features 14 clinical rooms, a multipurpose room for activities, and community rooms for nurses, link workers and the administration team. It has also improved its environmental features, now boasting solar panels, electric chargers and a bike rack to promote its cycle to work scheme. It also has an improved outdoor space maintained by the local group Bees of Bensham, creating an outdoor space that is insect and bee-friendly.
The new building has allowed the groups to increase the team of doctors, nurses and pharmacists, reducing the time taken for patients to be seen and providing better care for chronic conditions.
Sam Allen, Chief Executive of NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB, has praised the staff on the new development: “The team have shown real vision and drive over many years to breathe new life into these NHS premises. Bringing a range of clinicians, practitioners and support workers to work together under one roof and meet local people’s needs is the way forward.”
