LIFT scheme reaches new heights (25 June)
The Department of Health is celebrating the go-ahead for the 200th new health centre to be built under the Government’s NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) programme, aimed at improving community health services in some of the country’s poorest and most deprived areas.
Building work will begin shortly at Brierley Hill Health Social Care Centre in Dudley.
The £21.4 million centre will be a four-storey development housing three local GP practices, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, chiropody, dental therapy, speech and language therapy, and psychology and counselling services.
It will also enable work such as diagnostics and out-patient clinics to be undertaken outside hospital.
Facilities for older people and the physical disability teams of the local social services department will be based there, alongside the Brierley Hill district housing team.
Rather than simply replacing outdated facilities, NHS LIFT premises offer many services traditionally only found in hospitals. There are now 125 of these facilities open to patients with the remaining 75 being currently under construction.
The combined capital value comes to over £1.1 billion. Meanwhile, the investment continues to flow into LIFT facilities with dozens more being planned elsewhere round the country.
Source: GNN, the Government News Network.