Healthcare & Access to GPs
The NHS says there is currently no local capacity for the additional population.
Around 4,510 additional residents would need GPs, nurses, pharmacists and community healthcare. The brief distinguishes between allocating space for healthcare and actually securing a funded, staffed and operational service.
What has the NHS said?
The BNSSG Integrated Care Board says there is currently no local capacity to accommodate the population growth. It identifies Almondsbury Surgery and Stoke Gifford Medical Centre / Bradley Stoke Surgery as the practices most likely to be affected.
The brief records that Stoke Gifford Medical Centre and its branches have only 87% of recommended floorspace for their existing patients, and that no approved primary-care premises projects or future funding sources have been identified to provide the required additional capacity.
A space on a masterplan is not a GP surgery
An operational healthcare service needs suitable premises, NHS commissioning, staff, equipment, funding and a clear opening plan. The NHS says it has not received sufficient details about the proposed on-site facility.
£1.909 million requested
The NHS estimates that the development requires about 386.58 m² of additional primary-care floorspace at a capital requirement of £1,909,429. It asks for this contribution to be index-linked, secured through the Section 106 agreement and paid before development starts.
Relevant planning policy
NPPF — HC3: necessary community and public-service infrastructure and timely delivery.
Core Strategy — CS6 and CS23: infrastructure and community facilities, including healthcare, required to support development.
Questions for the Council
- Has sufficient primary-care capacity been secured?
- Where will new residents access primary healthcare?
- Why was healthcare infrastructure omitted from the draft Section 106 Heads of Terms?
- Will the full £1.909 million contribution be secured, index-linked and paid before development as requested by the NHS?
- If a new facility is relied upon, what will be provided, who will fund and operate it, and when will it open?
- Will existing residents maintain access to primary healthcare?