In another week of great news all at once, after years of campaigning, we now have formal and final confirmation from the NHS that our new Medical Centre is going ahead – as well as planning application approval from Croydon Council last week.
This will be a much-needed NHS facility, on the Malcolm Road site of the former CALAT building, providing over 35,000 additional GP appointments to residents in the south of our borough.
A huge thank you to everyone who campaigned for this, especially Mayor of Croydon Jason Perry, who ensured that the site was sold to the NHS and not developers – and also facilitated a development agreement with the NHS, without which this would not have been possible.
Thanks also to Coulsdon’s local councillors Ian Parker, Luke Shortland, Mario Creatura, Margaret Bird and Nikhil Sherine Thampi, and local residents groups, who have been campaigning with me for this.
I have been working hard throughout to make sure that the funding was there – as per the confirmation letter from the Department for Health and Social Care.
Our new Medical Centre will have five treatment rooms, car parking, and pedestrian access from both Chipstead Valley Road and Woodcote Grove Road.
The Medical Centre will offer a full range of primary care services, including full GPs services, help with health problems, vaccinations, examinations and treatment, prescriptions, referrals to other health, mental health and social services, neighbourhood health offerings and more. I will be back in touch with an update once GPs are appointed to run the centre.
It also comes on top of the recent expansion of services at Purley Hospital that I pushed for – with new Community Diagnostic Centre and minor elective surgery facilities now open, plus extended opening hours at the Purley GP Hub.
The NHS tell me that work is due to start this summer and the centre is due to open around April next year.
This is great news for Coulsdon and I will keep everyone updated.
Chris Philp MP
Croydon South
