£13million inner city health complex gets go ahead after stumbling block

Oct 5 2010 by Alison Dayani, Birmingham Mail

A LONG-AWAITED £13 million health centre for one of the city’s most deprived suburbs that hit a stumbling block has got the final go-ahead from health chiefs.

NHS West Midlands health authority delayed approval of the five-storey Colston Primary Care Centre, in Bath Row, Five Ways, in July with concerns it was “too big”.

But board members have now rubber-stamped final approval after a new report into its value for money showed 81 per cent of the building space would be in use.

It is also set to treat more than 16,000 people across Ladywood and Edgbaston in coming years.

Paul Taylor, NHS West Midlands finance director, said: “The current combined list sizes of two GP practices is 11,887 and this is estimated to grow to over 16,200 patients within three years of opening.