Sleaford to be part of health hub pilot plans

According to the NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board, NHS England has sponsored the development of these six pioneering health hubs set within the community, designed to serve local population health needs.

The aim of the pilot is to bring all health and social care services together in one building as a one-stop shop which would see the co-location of GP practices and other health services such as pharmacies, specialist and dental clinics and mental health support, speeding up waiting times and referrals.

No location for the hub has been proposed, but the idea of redeveloping the Lincolnshire County Council office buildings off Eastgate has previously been mooted.

A NHS Lincolnshire spokesman said key local stakeholders have been approached to confirm appetite and support for a new approach where sites would be owned and controlled by the wider health and care system rather than individual GP partners

They said: “These pioneer sites, known as ‘Cavell Centres’, have the potential to help breakdown traditional silos between primary and secondary care, and improve patient access to a wider range of services.”

Still at the development stage, the project would still require capital funding to be released. There is already a Cavell Centre at Peterborough City Hospital. The hubs are named after Edith Cavell, a British nurse during the First World War.