Plymouth MP calls for plans for health hub to go further to solve dental crisis
Plymouth MP, Luke Pollard, has called for plans for a new health hub in the city to go further to provide better dental services and ease pressure on Derriford Hospital.
Mr Pollard, the MP for Sutton and Devonport, welcomed plans for a £25 million health hub, but suggested that the current proposals are not ambitious enough. Mr Pollard wants to see further development and investment, including the opening of a large dental centre in Colin Campbell Court.
The Labour MP wants to see a health village built in the city to solve the current dental access crisis and create a better balance for residents. Converting Colin Campbell Court and space on the corner of New George Street and Market Avenue would form a new ‘South Pole’ in the West End to balance the city’s ‘North Pole’ in Derriford, Mr Pollard explained.
The South West is among the worst areas in terms of dental access. Mr Pollard suggested that he would like to see a “massive new dentistry centre,” which he believed could open in Colin Campbell House. Community diagnostics and sexual health services could also relocate to the new site.
Mr Pollard added that a new health village would increase footfall in the city and help to provide better access to NHS services for families living in Stonehouse, one of the most deprived areas. The new health hub would also ease pressure on Derriford Hospital, which is in “crisis every day.”
The current proposals for the West End Health and Wellbeing Centre include plans for GP, dental, nursing, mental health and other health services under one roof. The project will cost between £20 million and £25 million. Mr Pollard said that he was pleased about the development but worried that it would be “overwhelmed” and have “nowhere to grow.” He called for more ambitious thinking to deliver long-term improvements for patients and healthcare teams.
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