Wokingham Medical Centre, in Berkshire, is a 1,600 sq m NHS building, providing new facilities for up to 16 GPs and five nurses, along with a new pharmacy and flexible medical suite. It was created from the redevelopment of a redundant 1990s office block in the town centre.
Dr Vipan Bhardwaj
The decision to create a new premises was not one we took lightly, but the demands of modern medicine and a significant increase in patient numbers left us with no choice.
After a rigorous selection process Barbara Weiss Architects were appointed as project architects and work commenced on the design in early 2011.
We funded the development by securing lending from a high street bank. PCT approval for the development was secured in December 2010 and the medical centre opened for patients in February 2014. The contract sum was just under £2.6m with site purchase costs, consultants’ fees and VAT on top. The overall cost was just over £5m.
Challenges of the building project
The GP partners of the practice were actively involved in the design and development of the project and we faced a number of challenges.
Financial
Well-designed and well-built premises aren’t cheap. A further setback included the then PCT’s application of an arbitrary and punitive notional rent cap. This meant that many banks simply refused to consider our proposal, as the indicative notional rent was too low for their underwriters.
We overcame this by renting space to a pharmacy and having an ISTC outreach clinic. To their credit, our NHS area team also managed to secure a fair notional rent which has helped considerably.
Time constraints
Overseeing a project such as this, in addition to being a full-time GP, has obviously been difficult. As the lead for the development I was given one day per week by the practice as protected time.
Design
Our old surgeries were so far adrift of modern standards that trying to think about future requirements was very difficult. We didn’t just want to provide sufficient capacity for the present but we wanted to be ambitious and enable the practice to flourish long in to the future. We visited many practices to get a feel for good design and facilities.
Communication
Communicating with patients and staff was essential. We had regular meetings with our staff and provided updates for our patients. Prior to the planning application we held two ‘roadshows’ for patients to enable them to see and comment on our proposals.
Learning about property development
I am not a propertydeveloper. This meant I had to juggle many hats, and conduct lots of research to ensure I had a clear and practical vision as to what needed to be done.
Whilst admittedly, this area may have been unfamiliar at first, I would certainly do it again as the outcome has outweighed all of the effort.
As well as the clear benefits to patients, consideration has been given to staff with features such as the common room, which helps to bring all medical centre personnel together. It also provides a more sociable environment leading to increased morale and team spirit amongst those who work there.
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- Dr Vipan Bhardwaj is partner at Wokingham Medical Centre, Berkshire
