NHS Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group has announce that the official name of the new centre being built on the site of a former school will be the Alfred Barrow Health Centre.
More than 750 people submitted their choice of name for the centre after a poll was launched two weeks ago.
NHS England and NHS Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) gave the public, patients and staff three options to choose from:
- Alfred Barrow Health Centre
- Alfred Barrow Primary Care Centre
- Alfred Barrow Community Health and Care Hub
A poll was shared on social media and voting boxes were put in the waiting rooms of Abbey Road Surgery, Atkinson Health Centre and Risedale Surgery – the three surgeries moving into the health centre.
Dr Geoff Jolliffe, GP from Risedale Surgery in Barrow and NHS Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group Clinical Chair said: “I am delighted that so many members of the public got involved and took part in the poll for the naming of the new centre.
“The Alfred Barrow School is well known to the local people of Barrow so keeping Alfred Barrow in the name of the centre is important to the history of the area.
“Our patients are our priority and it was fantastic that they could be a part of this exciting stage of the project.”
As well as bringing together the primary and community health services provided by the three GP surgeries listed above, the new health centre will also include services by Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust and house facilities for the North West Ambulance Service and BAE Systems.
Dr Ashish Kshetrapal, GP from Atkinson Health Centre in Barrow said: “We are very much looking forward to our move into the new Alfred Barrow building. It has been a long process, but it will be great to have so many services all collaborating in one place and will hopefully make access much easier for the patients.”
Work on the new centre is due to complete in spring 2019. It will be a modern facility, housing the GP surgeries and community health services in one building whilst preserving the oldest part of the Victorian Alfred Barrow School building.
Dr Arun Thimmiah, GP from Abbey Road Surgery in Barrow said: “I am glad to see the new health centre at the Alfred Barrow School site going up at pace. It is a dream come true for primary care services in Barrow and a much-deserved boost to the health economy locally.”