A new image shows what it could look like
What the new health centre in the Beechwood could look like(Image: Paxton Medical Group/ Healthier Neighbourhoods PCN)
A new image shows what a proposed health centre in the middle of the Beechwood Estate could look like. The plans were first revealed by the ECHO in September 2024, with discussions currently ongoing with Wirral Council.
The plans have been put forward by the new Healthier Neighbourhoods Primary Care Network (PCN). This network is made up of a number of GP practices in and around north Birkenhead.
The new network will also be working with local schools, charities and other third-party organisations, as well as Wirral Council’s public health team, to tackle long-term health issues in an area that contains affluent neighbourhoods alongside some of the poorest estates in the country. The network’s clinical directors previously said it would allow GPs to work together to provide more services in their area and point people to the right help.
Clinical director Dr David Baker said: “Linking centres like these across Birkenhead will better connect patients with the right help in the heart of their community,” adding: “As with many communities, there are no quick fixes, but I believe if people see investment, if they can see new life in their community, they will come together and change their community from within.
“We have growing issues facing our population now. You can despair about that, or you can be change-makers and drive forward tangible improvements. When people feel hopeful, when their physical and mental health improves, the changes in communities are palpable.”
Dr Mark Fraser(left),and Dr David Baker,both Joint Clinical Directors for the Healthier Neighbourhoods Primary Care Network(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
No formal planning application has been submitted yet and the PCN previously said the plans are a few years off. If plans go ahead, it will be built on the former MacLachlan Hall Scouts building on Fender Way.
The site was sold by Wirral Council by Lambert Smith Hampton for £166,000 in February 2024 with 107 bids put forward. It is close to a number of shops, schools, a library, as well as a new playground.
Clinical director Dr Mark Fraser told the ECHO the new centre will offer space for community groups to help bring people together, adding: “If you start to build a relationship with other organisations and bring them into the health centre, you are starting to have something different.”