Neil O’Brien MP, the Minister for primary care and public health, convened a meeting on the 8th of March to discuss the expansion of health facilities in Leighton Buzzard following legal advice received from NHS Property Services showing that the 4 acres of valuable land on Vandyke Road owned by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, can be used to expand healthcare within the town.
The meeting was attended by NHS Property Services, Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, Central Bedfordshire Council and South West Bedfordshire MP Andrew Selous.
A range of health services are being considered, including the expansion of general practice, community health, mental health, reablement and hospital outpatient services. There are several streams of revenue which will be provided by these facilities to service any additional capital costs of the buildings.
Speaking after the meeting, Andrew Selous said “The ICB said that this is a once in a generation opportunity to improve significantly health facilities in Leighton Buzzard. The ICB will undertake an initial scoping exercise of the various health services that could be included on this site within the next 4 to 6 weeks, and I stressed that it will be extremely important to consult local people and in particular the patient participation groups of the GP surgeries in the town.”
“The Chief Financial Officer of the ICB has been tasked to undertake the initial work and NHS property services are likely to be the developers of the site and will work closely with Central Bedfordshire Council. I am absolutely delighted by this opportunity which has opened up to improve healthcare within the town. This 4-acre site has been available since 1988, and we now need to consult widely and well and then move forward at pace to deliver what the town and south Bedfordshire very much need and deserve, in terms of additional health facilities. “