Milton Keynes City Council continues to push its commitment to improving GP access across the city, as the future of a local Health Centre has been secured.
It has been announced that primary medical care (GP) services at Neath Hill Health Centre will now be offered by established provider OneMedicare – who currently runs Whitehouse Health Centre. This appointment follows a procurement exercise by the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (ICB).
OneMedicare’s takeover of the practice will see Neath Hill Health Centre become a branch of Whitehouse Health Centre, bringing a higher level of stability and resilience for the small practice.
Labour Ward Councillors Stephen Brown and Nas Khan said: “It’s welcome news that the future of Neath Hill Health Centre is secure, especially during a period of such uncertainty. We all know and have experienced the current strains on the NHS so we hope that this move will have a positive and lasting impact on the community.”
The City Council built Whitehouse Health Centre and Brooklands Health Centre to cope with additional demand and is planning a new facility in the MK East development. The City Council has also provided funding for a new cancer centre and an A&E overflow unit at MK Hospital and has recently agreed funding for a new radiology unit for the Hospital to provide state of the art radiotherapy treatment for residents in the city, so patients no longer have to travel to Oxford.
This comes as MK Labour continues to campaign for better access to GP services across the city, with the City Council making it a corporate priority to improve access to GP and mental health services.
Labour Councillor Emily Darlington, Cabinet Member for Healthy Communities, sits on Milton Keynes’ Health and Care Partnership:
“The City Council has been working to improve GP access for the residents of Milton Keynes, and while the takeover of Neath Hill Health Centre is welcome news, there is clearly a long way to go. We will continue to invest in crucial infrastructure, such as a Health Hub in MK East and improve services in South East MK, and will continue our campaign for a Health Hub in Bletchley. This is all while we’re investing millions of pounds in mental health support for our communities each year.
“But sadly, our NHS is desperately underfunded and overstretched, and it needs a fully costed plan to ease these pressures and tackle the issue at hand. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to happen with the Conservatives. They just let us down time and time again.”
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