GP funding boost to free up 55,000 more appointments in Hackney – council says

Explaining the benefits: Cllr Chris Kennedy

Government funds for expanding GP surgeries in the capital will create tens of thousands more appointments for Hackney patients, the local authority has confirmed.

Last week the local NHS board announced health services in north east London would see a £3.3m cash injection from the Department of Health and Social Care.

This will provide 55,000 more appointments per year in Hackney, according to the borough’s healthcare chief.

Cllr Chris Kennedy, cabinet member for health and adult social care, welcomed the news that two surgeries – Sandringham and Somerford Grove – would be revamped thanks to the investment, “taking pressure off other local healthcare providers”.

North East London’s Integrated Care Board (NEL ICB) announced that several practices, including Sandringham’s Madinah Road premises, were set to undergo refurbishment and “reconfiguration”, which would provide new consultation and treatment rooms.

“Patients will directly benefit from the new facilities and practice staff will also benefit from working in new and improved sites,” Kennedy told the Citizen.

More than half of the additional appointments – 33,000 – will be made available as a result of the investment in Sandringham’s Madinah Road building.

This comes following last month’s opening of the new Spring Hill Group Practice in Stoke Newington.

Constructed on a derelict council-owned site, the premises includes 20 consulting rooms, three treatment rooms and one minor procedures room.

Cllr Kennedy also pointed to the Town Hall’s renovating Lower Clapton’s General Practice, “a heritage building at-risk of falling into disrepair”, in 2023.

Sarah See, managing director of primary care for NHS North East London, said: “We are thrilled to receive the funding that will improving GP health facilities across north east London and are looking forward to working with the practices to implement these plans.

“Once completed, patients will be able notice the benefits, with more face-to-face appointments that will additionally take pressure off other local healthcare providers.”