The Eagle has landed

4:06pm Thursday 18th October 2007

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CREWE'S new £10million health centre is preparing to open its doors next month, offering state-of-the-art facilities to the community.

The Eagle Bridge Health and Wellbeing Centre on Dunwoody Way replaces three separate surgeries in the town, the Delamere Practice, Earnswood Medical Centre and Millcroft Medical Centre.

“The new centre represents substantial investment by the Primary Care Trust into the area, with a building to meet the needs of the local population for years to come."

Millcroft GP Michael Freeman

But in addition to replacing the practices and catering for some 38,000 residents, the new building offers extensive healthcare facilities available to the whole community.

The new premises became necessary because of a lack of space in the three centres and as the Delamere and Earnswood practices are to be bulldozed to make way for the major town centre redevelopment.

The project had come under fire from some residents concerned they would have to travel further across town to see their GP.

The new centre, which will house 150 staff, includes an on-site pharmacy on the ground floor, which can open independently of the rest of the building.

The ground floor also includes a spacious reception area, a cafeteria, dental services, podiatry, physiotherapy, phlebotomy, audiology, speech and language therapy.

There are also community facilities to be used by local organisations and visiting district nurses and medics to run healthcare sessions and classes.

The name of the building was suggested by a patient and was chosen for its links to an historic landmark at the site from the old Crewe Works.

The original Eagle Bridge across the railway line became famous locally as it was supported by four cast iron eagle sculptures.

Three of them are already on display in different areas of the town, while the fourth has been donated by Bombardier, renovated and placed at the entrance to the new centre.

During a tour of the building on Monday, Millcroft GP Michael Freeman told the Guardian: "The practices themselves will continue to run independently, although they will be working much more closely.

"The new centre represents substantial investment by the Primary Care Trust into the area, with a building to meet the needs of the local population for years to come.

"The GPs are the leaseholders of the building and were very much involved in the development.

"At the old practices we had no opportunity to expand services as we physically did not have the room.

"Here we have the space and facilities to develop new services, which is important especially as a lot of work is now being transferred from hospital to primary care."

The three practices have separate consultation wings' situated on the second floor.

Patient transfer to the centre is being staggered, with Delamere's PCT services moving from November 5, Delamere Street Surgery from November 12, Millcroft from November 19 and Earnswood from December 3.