Sheffield £37m GP surgery hubs approved to tackle shortage

The new hubs would replace existing practices in parts of Sheffield

Plans for four new GP surgery hubs in Sheffield have been approved by councillors.

The hubs, in Burngreave, Fir Vale, Shiregreen and Parson Cross, will replace nine GP practices which run 12 surgeries.

Sheffield City Council is working with the NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board to deliver the hubs.

The £37m cost will be met by government as the care board is not allowed to own capital assets such as buildings.

City councillors were told the move would help combat the "chronic shortage" of GPs in the city by providing modern premises, with space to develop other health services including diagnostic services which would usually involve a trip to hospital.

According the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a further proposal to build a new GP hub in the city centre has still to be finalised and may not go ahead.

A proposal to move patients from Melrose Surgery to a new hub at Concord Sports Centre in Shiregreen has also not been decided.

The new premises would be leased by GPs for 25 years at a peppercorn rent, plus service charges, meaning they would not have to take on debt to own their own surgeries.

Council Director of Integrated Commissioning Joe Horobin said: "A number of GP premises are really quite outdated now and too small to deliver medicine in the 21st Century."