Patients of the Portcullis practice in central Ludlow will know how cramped the current building is. I am a patient there myself and there are times when it is standing room only in the waiting area. There is no privacy at reception, and if a patient speaks loudly to a doctor is sometimes possible to hear them in the next room or the waiting area. The building is growing unfit for purpose.
At one time, the practice planned to move out to the new hospital on the Eco Park. That proposal was controversial but it did not in any event come to pass because the hospital project collapsed. More recently, Stone House, the former Shropshire Council offices, proved an unsuitable alternative.
Now the surgery plans to expand on its current site. The scheme will provide a better waiting area, with a separated children’s space, and a private booth at reception. New rooms will be provided for minor treatment, counselling and medical students.
In recent days, NHS England has approved funding for the scheme. Now all it needs is planning permission and I am backing that. I think this is a great scheme and the plans are a good way of improving facilities on a highly constrained site.
If you want to comment on the application – and I hope you can support it – please do so as soon as you can (14/04096/FUL).
Current site plan
Planned extension and reconfiguration
The building will look very similar, just a bit bigger