Biggleswade health hub plans scrapped - for now - due to 'revenue constraints'

Plans for Biggleswade's health hub looked to be scrapped - for now - due to "revenue constraints".

An extraordinary meeting of the Bedfordshire Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (BLMK ICB) took place this afternoon (January 11), with its agenda listing the Ivel Valley site as one which is "not affordable to progress at this stage” within the limits of the Primary Care Budget.

Also listed to be shelved were plans to secure space at Sandy Health Centre (being vacated by ELFT) and additional office space Shannon Court via private landlord, as well as a proposal to take on additional non-GMS space within Ivel Medical Centre.

But the ICB states it "will continue to seek further opportunities to bring some of these schemes forward" and "may consider alternative funding streams, particularly those included in the multi-agency system-wide Integrated Health and Care Hub Programme".

Central Bedfordshire Councillor for Biggleswade South, Dr Hayley Whitaker, said: "This will come as a body blow to Biggleswade given that it was heralded as the solution to our problems accessing healthcare. Repeatedly the hold-up has been blamed on the inability to agree a long-term leasing arrangement for the Biggleswade Hospital site. Given that the 1,500 homes site to the East of Biggleswade recently obtained planning approval the need for improved healthcare is only going to get worse when our local infrastructure is already at breaking point."

At a meeting of Central Bedfordshire Council's (CBC's) health and wellbeing board in July 2021, it was heard that the initial timeline for the hub to be delivered was at the end of 2023, but that it had shifted "to perhaps quarter three of 2024" which was "unfortunate".

Head of partnership and performance at CBC, Patricia Coker, told the meeting: "We started with Dunstable and Biggleswade at the same time. We faced some challenges reaching the point of being able to secure the asset or get an understanding with NHS Property Services that we could begin to work with an ambition to use the site for the hub. But we secured an agreement with NHS Property Services for a lease which we're now pursuing."

Director of social care, health and housing Julie Ogley told the meeting that the council had committed to fund the first two hubs – Dunstable and Biggleswade – and that it was looking for capital. Plans included the relocation of up to two GP practices into the Biggleswade (Ivel Valley) Integrated Health and Social Care Hub.

A spokeswoman for the BLMK ICB said: “The committee meeting will consider a programme of primary care estates schemes that are recommended to receive funding. A robust prioritisation process has been undertaken to establish the schemes that will be taken forward initially. We are committed to getting these schemes under way as soon as possible to improve access for residents. We are continuing to work with health and care partners to develop proposals for Integrated Health and Care Hubs."