I am pleased to say that planning permission for the new £5.4m Coleford Health Centre has been granted. This welcome news now means that building work to create a brand new, modern and high-tech health centre can now begin.
As the population of Coleford and the surrounding area grows, this new premises is needed to meet patient demand. The new health centre will become home to two GP surgeries, Brunston and Lydbrook Practice and Coleford Family Doctors. Currently, both surgeries are operating from outdated buildings no longer suitable for modern healthcare.
The two surgeries also plan to merge into one practice when they move, this will allow them to share resources, become more resilient and work more flexibly with greater efficiency. This will bring benefits to both patients and staff, with a greater range of services and extended opening times.
The building will have 20 new clinical rooms and a minor procedures suite. These new consulting and treatment rooms will allow the health centre to expand their services and provide different kinds of support. The extra space will enable more doctors, nurses and pharmacists to receive training.
The health centre will be built on the edge of Coleford, in the area known as The Gorse, next to both the Coombs nursing home and Great Oaks Hospice.
The building work is expected to start in the summer of 2023. This development is but one part of the major investment in health care across the Forest of Dean and will work in conjunction with the new hospital in Cinderford and the NHS’s plans for a new GP’s surgery in Lydney.