8:50am Wednesday 30th July 2008
By Charlotte Gray
The final piece of concrete was slapped on one of the borough's four neighbourhood health centres yesterday.
Haringey's health chiefs and campaigning MP Lynne Featherstone marked a key milestone in the future of Hornsey Central Neighbourhood Health Centre with a small ceremony.
Hornsey and Wood Green's MP has been working towards getting better healthcare for Hornsey for over a decade.
Yesterday Ms Featherstone laid the final piece of cement on the new £10million health facility, due to open in 2009.
Chair of Haringey's Teaching Primary Care Trust Richard Sumray said yesterday: "Today marks a significant step forward for this much-needed new health facility in Haringey.
"I am very impressed with what has been achieved so far and now look forward to this impressive new building opening its doors next year to deliver better, more accessible care for thousands of local residents.
"As one of the four Neighbourhood Health Centres planned for the borough, it will help deliver top quality services to our local community in a new building that matches our expectations for 21st century health and social care needs."
When the centre opens next year, 15,000 patients will be able to access their local GPs on site and this is expected to rise to 25,000 patients. Services will also include a new dementia day care centre, urgent care services, a diabetes clinic, family planning and physiotherapy.
However controversy still surrounds the future of services from this building.
The Liberal Democrats carried out their own survey which revealed patients do not want to see their local GP forced to relocate.
Ms Featherstone said: "We have the building, now we need to know what is going to go in it. We are absolutely clear that local residents do not want to see a reduction in number of GPs or mass forced relocations of local practices.
"To be called a hospital it must have more than basic GP services. Our survey has show there is significant demand for wider services.
"This is real opportunity - the Health Trust must act now to engage with local people."
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