The Richard Nugent Centre was officially opened on Monday (4 December) in Kingsbury Close as the new, modern home for the Spires Health Centre.
Sandwell Council has worked closely with the Spires Health Centre and NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) to deliver the project, which will benefit the local community for decades to come.
The new centre includes a suite of consulting, treatment and meeting rooms as well as 32 on-site car parking spaces and an ambulance drop-off centre. The Spires Health Centre alone has five new consulting rooms and on treatment room.
The centre is part of one of Sandwell’s key regeneration projects on a one-acre, council-owned brownfield site that has been developed next to Wednesbury Leisure Centre. The council has fully financed and delivered the health centre on behalf of the NHS, which is then leasing the building from the council.
The council has invested in the infrastructure for the site which also includes five new council homes, in King Street, as part of its housebuilding programme for Sandwell. These are the first new council homes built in Wednesbury for decades, and tenants moved in earlier this year.
Sandwell Council Leader, Councillor Kerrie Carmichael, said: “This fantastic new health centre is a wonderful example of the council and NHS working together to deliver better health facilities for residents in Wednesbury and Sandwell.
“One of our key ambitions is for Sandwell to be a place where people live healthy lives and live them for longer.
“It’s also very fitting that the centre is named after the late Richard Nugent, to help celebrate his many years of service and dedication to local healthcare provision in Sandwell and the wider region.”
Attending the opening ceremony were representatives from Sandwell Council, the NHS and other partners, who took a tour of the new facilities and unveiled a tree planted to mark the official opening of the centre.
At the request of the ICB, the centre was named after Richard Nugent. Richard served as non-executive director of Sandwell and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group until 2018 and was previously chair of the former Sandwell Primary Care Trust, working in the healthcare profession for 35 years.
Richard’s son, Mark Nugent, and daughter, Rhiannon Roche, both attended the opening ceremony, saying: “Dad would have been honoured by the naming of this centre.
“The project was important to him and echoes his firm belief that health outcomes are improved by community access to better local facilities.”
Dr Ajay Ramachandran and Dr Divya Chikkaveeraiah, GP Partners at Spires Health Centre, said: “The GPs and staff at the Spires Health Centre are very happy to have relocated to the Richard Nugent Centre.
“The building has been built to a very high standard and we have already received very positive feedback from our patients. Now that GP and community standards are located together, we are able to work in partnership to provide high quality healthcare to the residents of Wednesbury.”
Sarb Basi, Director of Primary Care for the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, added: “We’re pleased to be supporting this long-awaited project in Wednesbury.
“The new facilities at the Richard Nugent Centre will enable Spires Health Practice to continue to provide excellent care in fit-for-purpose comfortable environment for their patients.
“Local GP practices play a vital role in helping us all to look after our health, and this new centre will be a fantastic resource for both the practice and the community it cares for.”
The centre is also home to members of Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust’s District Nurse Service, providing them with two new podiatry rooms and four consulting/treatment rooms.
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, Daren Fradgley, said: “We are pleased to be providing much-needed services in the heart of the Wednesbury community in a modern healthcare facility where we have a number of services based including one of our District Nursing teams.
“The Foot Health Team are now operating daily from this easily accessible venue, with regular clinics by the Community Heart Failure Nurses, and the Anticoagulant Service which cares for patients who take blood thinning drugs, all which were previously based at the nearby Mesty Croft Clinic.”
Construction of the health centre and the new council homes was carried out by Interclass Plc.
Des O’Neill, Managing Director of Interclass Plc, said: “Interclass is immensely proud to have been a part of this transformative project, working alongside Sandwell Council and the NHS to bring the Richard Nugent Centre to life. The successful collaboration reflects our commitment to delivering high-quality construction projects that positively impact communities.
“We believe this modern health centre will serve as a shining example of healthcare excellence, and we take great pride in our role in enhancing the local health facilities for the residents of Wednesbury. Congratulations to all involved in getting this project over the line.”
