News & Views overview

First brick laid at pioneering integrated care centre in Hull

The first brick has been laid for a new £9 million Integrated Care Centre (ICC) which will unite services to provide tailored care for the elderly and combat unnecessary hospital admissions.

The pioneering new development on the site of the former David Lister School in east Hull will primarily treat elderly patients who have been referred by their GP as being at risk of hospital admission – a new approach to this area of healthcare.

Patients will be assessed, have a comprehensive integrated care plan formed and a care coordinator appointed on the same day, with therapists, voluntary services and other specialist services based in one place.

Now, as the scheme progresses, invited guests and children from Estcourt Primary School, have attended a special event to mark the construction milestone, with pupil Taylor Tomlinson, who turned 10 on the day, laying the first brick.

Paul Jackson, Hull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Vice Chair and Chair of the Integrated Care Centre Board, said: “I’m really delighted to see the first bricks being laid for the new Integrated Care Centre.

“We are changing the way we deliver health care for older people in Hull. Health, social care and fire and rescue service teams will work together for the first time to prevent people from going into hospital unnecessarily, and fully support them at home.

“This is an exciting step for everyone involved, including people from the local community who have been a big part of the project.”

Work on the ICC, which will be open seven days per week, is due to be completed in April 2018 and also includes a new home for the east Hull fire and rescue service team currently based at Southcoates Lane.

Specially trained fire personnel will support the rehabilitation and recovery of patients following a period in hospital, building on the success of the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service and health-led Hull FIRST Falls Response Team.

Councillor Steve Brady, leader of Hull City Council, said: “It’s great to see this fantastic project get off the ground and I look forward to seeing its progress throughout the year.

“I am delighted the council was able to make the land available for NHS Hull CCG and Community Health Partnerships (CHP) to develop the Integrated Care Centre.

“The city must continue to evolve its care services to ensure the best possible support is given to its vulnerable residents.

“This new centre is a great step-forward in partnership working which will bring positive changes to the delivery of healthcare. I look forward to seeing the newly-built centre when it opens in 2018.”

The ICC is the first NHS development scheme to get the green light in the region since the announcement of the Humber, Coast and Vale Sustainability & Transformation Plan (STP) vision for out of hospital care.

Department of Health company Community Health Partnerships (CHP) is investing in the building and will also be head tenant.

CHP Developments Director Eugene Prinsloo said: “This service will deliver better patient care through a more integrated and flexible community-based health approach using modern, fit-for-purpose estate.”

Developer Citycare, NHS Hull CCG’s estates partner, has appointed Sewell Construction and Sewell Facilities Management to build and maintain the purpose-built facility, following a detailed market test.

The ICC is the 14th project Citycare is delivering, having developed £100 million of new and improved health and wellbeing facilities on behalf of its public sector partners across Hull since 2004.

Charles Lewis, Citycare’s Independent Chair, said: “The ICC is a first for the UK and is unique in its offering. It’s wonderful to reach this milestone and it reinforces what a fantastic facility this will be for the city.

“I’m really proud of the collaborative working which has gone into this innovative project and all costs have been challenged to ensure best value for our partners throughout the scheme and in the future.

“This flexible building will combine services under one roof and is also particularly unique in terms of collaboration with Humberside Fire and Rescue Service.”

Sewell Construction is also working alongside United Living, which is developing 82 social houses, primarily bungalows, for the over 65s under separate plans on the same site.

Derek Nickolds, Project Manager at Sewell Group, said: “Laying the first brick marks a significant milestone in the development in terms of progress.

“We are out of the ground and the steel frame is complete, so we are starting on the ‘envelope’ of the building.

“You can really start to see the building taking shape now and all of the floors are complete, and the roof work will start towards the end of June.

“We have about 30 construction staff on site at the moment and we’re also mindful of our neighbours, so we’ve used specific construction techniques to keep noise to a minimum.

“We are delighted to be working collaboratively on such a groundbreaking project.”

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