Revamped GP practice creates more space for patients to be seen

A GP practice in the lower Swansea Valley now has more space to see and treat patients thanks to an extensive refurbishment.

Pontardawe Primary Care Centre has undergone vast improvements, including the addition of five new consulting rooms and two treatment rooms.

An extension on the side of the building is home to two of the new consulting rooms.

The remaining three consulting rooms and treatment rooms have been housed within the practice and health board accommodation, making better use of under-utilised pre-existing space.

Pictured: Health board primary care estates manager Jonathan Parker and Pontardawe Primary Care Centre practice manager Owain Gimblett.

A baby changing room and a baby feeding room have also been created as part of the refurbishment.

Improvements have also been made to the office spaces within the building, all of which are now based upstairs.

The relocation of the offices to the first floor has created more capacity for staff providing dental, podiatry, wound care, speech and language therapy, diabetes, abdominal aortic aneurysm screening and mental health services.

District nurses and health visitors will also be based out of the office space too.

Amendments have also been made to the practice’s car park, with better drainage facilities now in place and the relocation of some car parking spaces.

The practice remained open while the improvements took place, with the work completed in separate phases to minimise the disruption to patients.

Jonathan Parker, the health board's primary care estates manager, said: “We have made better use of under-utilised space within the building.

“We have eight new rooms, with only two added in the extension, so we have made better use of existing space.

“The consulting rooms will be used by the GPs, whereas the treatment rooms will be used for health board services which can include minor procedures.

“The upstairs of the building is where the offices are for administrative purposes, with the downstairs of the building now purely for clinical use.”

Pictured: One of the new treatment rooms at the practice.

The site, which originally opened in 2003, is leased to the health board and GP practice by Primary Health Properties which funded the refurbishment.

The improvement works were carried out to better meet the needs of the local population, which has increased in recent years.

Owain Gimblett, practice manager, said: “We used to have around 10,000 patients, whereas now we have over 13,500.

“We decided to expand and have more consulting rooms for the growing number of patients.

“As a result, we have also been able to house more health board services at the practice.”

The improvement works will also enable patients to receive more of their care in the community, with more services available at the practice.

“We wanted to future-proof the practice, so having a variety of services based here will benefit that,” Owain added.

“Having the additional services here will allow patients to receive their care closer to home.

“It’s better for staff and better for our patients with more rooms where they can be seen.

“I would also like to thank patients and staff for their patience while the works were carried out.”