A NEW specialist clinic for children and young people has opened in Chippenham, meaning patients will no longer need to go to Bath to be seen.

The clinic at Hathaway Medical Centre in Middlefield Road will provide a specialist assessment and treatment centre for children and young people who use the Virgin Care-run Wiltshire Children’s Community Service.

Children and young people can be seen for paediatric services, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, health visiting drop-ins and speech and language therapy at the centre.

It will also house audiology services with special hearing test booths available so that children have full privacy when attending their appointment.

Val Scrase, head of operations for Wiltshire Children’s Community Services, said: “Our new Hathaway clinic will help us to continue to deliver improvements in patient care, joining up services so that we build a truly Wiltshire-focused service, and ensuring every child has the same access regardless of where they live in the country.”

Ted Wilson, director of community services and joint commissioning at Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group, added: “We welcome the opening of this brand new children’s clinic in Chippenham, which is part of our commissioning strategy to provide dedicated health services, locally as possible, for Wiltshire’s children and young people.”

Children in the region will no longer have to be seen in specialist clinics in Bath, and will instead be referred to the clinic in Chippenham.

Laura Mayes, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for children’s services, said: “We are pleased families no longer need to travel out of our county to receive these important services.

“Having a young family can be busy and hectic at the best of times so we hope this new clinic being closer to home will ease that a little bit and be much more convenient, while providing excellent services.”