VWV Proud Sponsor of 'Women In Property'
On Friday 5 May, 'Women in Property', a national organisation aimed at enhancing the profile of women in the male dominated construction and property sectors, descended upon the site in Trowbridge where building work is ongoing for the new Health Centre.
The Adcroft Surgery and Bradford Road Surgery GP partnerships have joined forces, acquiring land abutting the existing Adcroft Surgery premises, and constructing a large and modern extension to allow for the increased patient numbers and new healthcare services, which come hand in hand with working in the NHS in 2017.
We were lucky to have our GP clients, Dr Stephen Locke and Dr Toby Cookson, on hand to talk us through their vision, and to guide us through some of the practicalities, which are involved with managing the overall project alongside their existing clinical duties.
Our very own Commercial Property Solicitor, Gemma Pouncy, gave a brief overview of some of the legal issues which have arisen at the site, not least the need to liaise with NHS Property Services Limited with regards the acquisition of the site.
Charlie James from GVA then talked us through the plans and specification of the build, before time was spent walking around the site and discussing the impact for the GP practice itself going forwards.
The visit gave us a great opportunity to see how the specification of NHS premises has developed - for example, in the size of the consulting rooms, and the ways in which premises design can influence infection control. What came through quite clearly from Drs Locke and Cookson was how the property had to balance form and functionality, so that the practice is able to deliver their services effectively, from a building which staff are happy to work in.
Many thanks to the people who helped to make this visit possible, to GVA for sponsoring the event, and to Melhuish and Saunders for hosting us. In addition, particular thanks go to Drs Locke and Cookson, for taking time out of their very busy schedules to come and talk to us about the project.
Gemma Pouncy commented:
"We have been working with the partners for a number of years, so it is great to see their plans coming to fruition. GP surgery development and construction can be very complex and time consuming, since there are so many factors to be brought into account. However, when you see schemes like this coming together, it's easy to see why the difficulties and complexities are worthwhile for an end product, which will be of such great benefit to the communities which the surgeries serve."