HEALTH boss Richard Sandford-Hill has spoken of his frustration at the amount of time it is taking the NHS to give final approval for the new health care centre in Devizes.

Mr Sandford-Hill, who is a GP in Market Lavington and chairman of the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “It is such a painfully slow process but there is nothing the CCG can do about it. This has been going on for years and no-one is more frustrated than me.

“We have had a lot of support from ministers and MPs and we have taken a certain amount of risk ourselves by appointing a design team before we get final approval so we are ready to go in Marshall Road.”

At the Devizes Area Board meeting earlier this month he apologised to the audience for the constant delay in start dates for the centre which has also had a change of name from urgent care to integrated care.

He told the Gazette this week that February 20 was now the crucial date for the CCG to hear that the business case has been signed off by the NHS.

Mr Sandford-Hill said: “It is our expectation that this will happen on that date.”

Last week the Gazette reported that the date for completion of the new centre, which will be operated by GPs giving urgent care and offer a range of other services such as ante and post natal care, dentistry and physiotherapy, had moved from 2021 to 2022.

Now Dr Sandford-Hill has explained in more detail why the new delay has occurred and the new timetable.

He said: “The outline business case had been approved but this now needs to be assessed by procurement.

“We have agreed to continue funding development of the full business case, which is likely to be decided in November or December. There is progress but it is very slow.”

He now expects work to start by spring or early summer of next year and he said that because the design team is already in place everything will be ready to go once the green light is given.

Many people in Devizes have campaigned for a minor injuries unit to be included in the new centre and the creation of this has not been completely ruled out by the CCG.

During the area board meeting Dr Sandford-Hill was asked if a minor injury unit could be included in he new centre as the ever increasing population of the town made this a good idea and also made ecological and economic sense.

The meeting was told that all appointments at the new centre would have to be booked and triaged over the phone and it would not be possible for people to just turn up and wait.

It might be possible for this to include people with injuries as well as those suffering ill health that needed urgent treatment.

It is expected that x-rays will be done at the next door NHS Treatment Centre.

Dr Sandford-Hill said that Devizes Community Hospital would not close until after the new building was open.

He said: “There are still people working there and nothing will change until the new centre opens.”

He said that money eventually made from the selling off the old hospital would not go to the CCG to be used locally but would go into a central NHS plot.

But he said the ability to provide NHS with cash helped the business case for the centre.

Friends of Devizes Hospital said it had money to spend but were not sure what to do with it due to uncertainty. Dr Sandford-Hill advised for the group to wait until new building is ready.

Wiltshire council leader Philip Whitehead said all bus routes and timetables would be looked at.

Planning permission has been given to build 50 homes on land in Marshall Road next to the NHS Treatment Centre but this scheme will not go-ahead until the health centre is up and running.