A major milestone has been reached in the building of a multi-million pound health centre in North Tyneside.
Construction work on the new Hadrian Health Centre, near the Forum Shopping Centre in Wallsend, started last year.
The three-storey steel structure and concrete roof deck of the building is now complete, with over 112 tonnes of hot rolled steel used for its frame.
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When the £9.5m development finishes in the summer, it will become the home of two GP surgeries - Park Road Medical Practice and Portugal Place Health Centre - as well as a range of community health services for more than 20,000 patients.
Dr Kerry Burnett, GP from Park Road Medical Practice, said: “It’s great to reach this significant milestone in the development of Hadrian Health Centre. It has been a real team effort to get to this point on such an important project which will benefit so many patients and their families.
“Bringing together various NHS services into one location will make it easier for the local community to access the support and treatment they need. We’re really excited to see the progress being made and are looking forward to welcoming our patients with pride when it has been completed.”
The work is being carried out by Esh Construction, working alongside national primary care premises specialist Assura.
The premises will be environmentally friendly, with solar photo voltaic (PV) panels on the roof to capture energy for the all-electric facility.
Stuart Leslie, divisional director at Esh Construction, said: “This is the first development Esh will deliver in partnership with Assura, and we are pleased to celebrate this key milestone with all health partners.
"The next phase will see the internal fit out commence which will include the construction of partitions and installation of services, while externally the masonry work will get under way.”
Andrew Cooper, senior development manager at Assura, added: “It’s always a special milestone to reach a building’s highest point, and it’s great that many of those people responsible for this fantastic facility are here to share it today.
"Later this year, the building will be opening its doors, adding new capacity for the NHS and supporting delivery of healthcare services in a state-of-the-art environment.”
Health partners in the project also include NHS North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Community Services.
