£3m to bring Ruthin health services under one roof

24 Jan 2020 11:10 AM

THE Health Minister, Vaughan Gething, has approved £3m of funding to bring health services together under one roof in Ruthin.

Services currently provided across four sites in the town will be come together in a Health and Wellbeing Centre at Ruthin Community Hospital.

The £3m Welsh Government-funded scheme will mean much less travel for patients and staff between sites for appointments and diagnostics, making treatment easier and more accessible.

As well as a GP surgery, the new centre will provide a wide range of community services, including Health Visitors and services for Older People with mental health problems. Improved facilities for therapy services, will provide additional space for physiotherapy and podiatry.

As part of the plan the GP Surgery at The Clinic, Ruthin will move from the existing premises which have been deemed not fit for purpose. The Clinic Surgery, on Mount Street serves nearly 3,000 patients and services will be transferred to the redeveloped Ruthin Community Hospital into new GP surgery premises.

The existing Hospital League of Friends will also move to a central location at the front of the hospital, and space will be provided for third sector services, and activities such as mother and toddler groups.   

Gareth Evans, Project Director, said:

This investment will make a real difference to the quality of care we provide to people living in Ruthin and the surrounding area.

We’re delighted to be able to improve the facilities for therapy and community services, as well as a new centre for the hospital’s League of Friends and third sector partners.

The funding will also allow us to improve the facilities for older person’s mental health provision, as well as facilities for families of inpatients at the hospital.

Dr Peter Leatt, Senior Partner at The Clinic Surgery, Ruthin, said:

This investment will make a real difference to our registered patients with improved and modernised healthcare facilities”.

The new building means that we have the potential to start offering training for GPs helping to protect the sustainability of general practice. It also means we will have scope to increase the range of services we provide, such as minor surgery, family planning and other therapy services which we can begin to develop further now that the funding has been confirmed.

These are exciting times for our practice team and for all of our patients”.

The Health Minister, Vaughan Gething said:

I'm delighted to approve the funding for this exciting development in Ruthin Community Hospital. The project is part of the Welsh Government plan to deliver care closer to home and will make it easier to access diverse services like screening, physiotherapy and podiatry directly as well as seeing their GPs. This project is just one of many schemes which are helping us deliver a healthier Wales.