Shropshire Council this week approved detailed plans for a new single storey surgery for the Worthen Medical Practice. The architectural style of the building respects the rural setting of the site being on the edge of the village and adjacent to the village Primary School.

The building fabric will be a mixture of sustainable timber cladding with modern crisp white render under a pitched roof.  The full height windows will allow maximum use of natural daylight throughout the building and also allow the visitors and staff to benefit from the views out across the open countryside. The existing road side hedge will be replaced and extended around the site enhancing  the rural environment. 

The building will be constructed to a  Breeam Very Good rating with an Excellent rating for  energy efficiency. This will be achieved by providing photovoltaic panels on the roof and an Air Source Heat pump to serve the underfloor heating throughout the building.

The 465m2 building is capable of extending within the site area offering future flexibility as well as additional car parking if required. The Practice will have significantly more space than their existing surgery which forms part of the Village Hall. This will include 3 consulting rooms and 2 treatment rooms together with a large meeting/training room.

Construction work is scheduled to commence later this year with an early summer completion next year.

Ben Lomond, the most southerly located Munro in Scotland, towers 974 meters over the eastern shore of Loch Lomond.  On Saturday 8^th June, surely one of the hottest days in Scotland and most certainly the sunniest, Richard Drew joined six fellow colleagues from the Hub West Scotland team to climb the Munro in aid of the MacMillan Cancer Support Charity. Wellspring , a company formed between Apollo, Community Solutions and Morgan Sindall  was appointed as the private sector partner in 2012  to operate Hub West Scotland, a PPP company which provides public sector community and healthcare developments around the Glasgow area.

The day started at the Rowardennan Hostel overlooking a very peaceful and calm Loch Lomond with the team looking up at Ben Lomond  the challenge that lay ahead; the peak of Ben Lomond was just visible; it didn’t look too bad. With back packs and sun cream  on, the  walk began……..the lower climb took us through  wooded and rocky terrain which  was brightened up by seasonal bluebells; this soon gave way to an open  pathway weaving its way up and out of sight. The views were spectacular, dominated by the size of the Loch and the beauty of the Trossachs National Park. Refreshment stops were a must due to the heat of the sun which whilst enjoyable made thirsty work of the walk. After  3 hours walking, the summit was successfully conquered by everyone ; the visibility couldn’t have been better , you could see across to the Isle of Arran and in the opposite direction to Stirling, Loch Earn and beyond. The only annoyance came from the resident Cleggs and midges, biting profusely and enjoying the perfectly still and sunny conditions. The sunshine had also brought out plenty of fellow minded walkers and the summit was quite a hive of activity soaking in the views and scenery.

With cameras and phones tucked away and refreshments complete, we took the descent   via the Ptarmigan Ridge, leading west and back to the shores of the Loch. The undulating route was very steep in places but successfully navigated as we all weaved our way down .The end was clearly  in sight but the descent seemed to be almost endless with our knees and some feet taking the toll.

After 6 (and a bit)  hours of glorious sunshine, magnificent views and excellent company, we all reached the Hostel once again ; the Loch was a welcome sight and a very chilling experience for those that chose to take a dip and reflect on the achievement of the team.

A grand total of £2,652 had been raised for the very deserving MacMillan charity. All that was required was to raise a glass, enjoy the evening meal and avoid the midges!

Apollo has been busy over the past 12 months working with the Worthen Medical Practice and Shropshire County PCT. The Practice has a long tradition within Worthen serving its large rural catchment to the west of Shrewsbury. Initially operating from a house the Practice moved into the Village Hall in the centre of the community some 25 years ago; the existing accommodation is no longer capable of supporting the services provided by the Practice.

A number of site options were considered and the preferred site was selected adjacent to the Primary school and only some 100 meters from the Village Hall. Last September Apollo jointly hosted an open morning with the Parish Council seeking the opinions of the local community to the selected site and the proposed design of the new surgery. There was unanimous support for a new surgery which had been a top priority for Worthen for many years.

The Business Case for the project was approved last December by the newly formed National Commissioning Board Local Area Team signalling all systems go for the new surgery.

The Practice  has worked very closely with Apollo and their the local architects from Shrewsbury ( DGA) who have designed the  465m2 single storey building that will both compliment the local rural setting of the site and offer a modern twist with quality materials and glazing to provide a light and airy environment. The building has been designed so that future flexibility and extensions are feasible without the loss of any on-site parking.

The detailed planning application has recently been submitted which should enable building works for the  new surgery to be commence in the autumn and be completed by early summer next year.

Work has begun on the £6m Rumney Primary Care Centre on the former Castlefields site on Barmouth Road, Rumney, Cardiff.  The new state of the art facility will house Dr Gerson & Partners, Health Board Community Services and a local community pharmacy operated by G H Bogal.  Based locally in St Mellons, Vinci Construction are building the new 2,300 sqm Centre.

Our picture shows Apollo”s Operations Director Rob James (far left) together with some of the occupants of the new building on site to see how construction of the new facility is progressing.  The new Centre is due to open in September 2013.

The replacement surgery for the Farrow Medical Practice has recently been granted full planning permission by Bradford Council.  The new surgery building will be developed on an adjoining site to the existing surgery, currently derelict land, which has been acquired from the Council.  The development has been welcomed by the local community who will significantly benefit from the regeneration of this site.

The new building will be 800m2 incorporating a pharmacy and will have 28 parking spaces to the rear of the development.  The building, being predominantly 2 storey, will have a significant presence on the Otley Road, a busy arterial route serving Bradford City Centre.

The new surgery will be three times as large as the existing surgery built in 1989 and provide the training practice with 8 consulting rooms, a treatment room and a Health Education/multi-purpose room.

Construction is due to commence next summer subject to the agreement to divert an existing footpath and alter the access road to facilitate the scheme. 

The new Farrow Medical Centre is planned to be completed by early summer 2014.