Contractor appointed to build Ballymena Health and Care Centre

O’Hare and McGovern construction firm have been awarded the contract to build the new Health and Care Centre in Ballymena. It is expected that the contractor will take possession of the site on 3 February 2014

The new £25million health and care centre will improve the provision and delivery of health and social care services to people in Ballymena and throughout the Trust area.

The Trust currently provides primary and community care services from a number of locations across the Ballymena area. The new health and care centre will bring together a range of services in a modern, accessible, one-stop facility. GP services, selected acute outpatient and diagnostic services and a large number of community and primary care multidisciplinary teams will be available under one roof.

Alison Renfrew, Assistant Director of Capital Development in the Northern Trust said: This much needed facility will replace outdated accommodation and dramatically improve the provision and delivery of health care and social services to people living in the Northern Trust area”.

She continued: “By providing services in one area in the community closer to where people live they will be able to live independently for longer in their own homes and reduce unnecessary hospitalisation as outlined in the Transforming Your Care report. Local access to health care will help to promote good health, improve chronic disease management and allow for early diagnosis and treatment of conditions”.

Welcoming the new Health and Care Centre, Laurence O’Kane, Northern Local Commissioning Group Chair, said:

“We look forward to the opening of this brand new centre which will bring a wide range of health and care services together that will ultimately benefit patients and promote good outcomes for patients, families and their carers.

The new centre in Ballymena is part of a planned programme of health and care centre developments that will support the implementation of ‘Transforming Your Care.”

The new centre will bring together six of local GP practices currently located within the Health Centre on the site and will deliver a range of acute, primary and community care, adult and children’s services. These will include diagnostic and rehabilitation services, such as community dental, physiotherapy and X-ray, podiatry and occupational therapy. An outpatient department with consultant and nurse led clinics and a children’s department. The centre will also house the local out-of-hours, Dalriada Urgent Care Service, which will relocate from its current accommodation.

It is anticipated that the health and care centre will be completed by May 2015 and will open by autumn 2015.

21st January 2014