Dearne healthcare moving into the community
A DOCTORS’ practice will be upgraded to become a neighbourhood health centre in Conisbrough.
The Stone Castle Centre, in Gardens Lane, will get investment from the government for the upgrade - one of the first in the country to benefit.
It is part of a plan to shift healthcare from hospitals into communities where possible.
The premises will be used to deliver what the NHS is calling a neighbourhood health service, putting medical teams into communities, allowing easier access for patients to seek treatment near home.
That will reduce pressure on hospitals, allowing them to focus on providing the best services possible for those who need treatment at that level.
According to Labour, waiting lists are down by 374,000 since the party took office and are now at a three year low.
Neighbourhood health care is regarded as one of the methods to help continue that decline.
Rawmarsh and Conisbrough MP John Healey said: “Upgrading the Stone Castle centre and singling it out to be in the first wave of neighbourhood health centres will deliver real improvements for local patients and is a huge vote of confidence in local staff.
“When the government announced the NHS Neighbourhood Rembuild fund I was determined Conisbrough should be at the front of the queue.
“Too many people are passed from GP to hospital for checks and treatments which can be delivered closer to home.
“This investment will help create the space to deliver more services at the Stone Castle centre.
“But the fact staff in Conisbrough have been recognised as ready and willing to make the shift to a neighbourhood model of care is significant,” he said.