Spades break ground at site of new integrated care centre

Progress on the new Trowbridge Integrated Care Centre has taken a giant leap forward, as health and care leaders marked the beginning of its construction by placing the very first spades in the ground.

Officials from Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board were joined at the Hammersmith Fields site by colleagues from Wiltshire Council and Trowbridge Town Council on Tuesday 26 November to officially break ground ahead of construction getting under way. 

Sue Harriman, Chief Executive, Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, said: “Breaking ground in this way is so much more than a ceremonial gesture, it is a clear signal to the people of Trowbridge and the surrounding areas that change is afoot, and that their new integrated care centre is now within reach.”

Once fully open, the centre will become a hub for multiple health and care services, with teams from different organisations working together under one roof to help provide local people with a seamless, more joined-up NHS experience.

Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling, Cabinet Member for Public Health, Wiltshire Council, said: “It was a privilege to attend this groundbreaking event and witness the progress being made towards delivering essential health facilities for our residents.

“By strategically using funds from the Wiltshire Community Infrastructure Levy, we are ensuring that contributions from local developments are reinvested directly into projects that have a tangible and lasting impact on our communities.”

The announcement of the new Trowbridge Integrated Care Centre comes as the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care promises to transform the NHS to make it fit for the future.

Wes Streeting MP has recently unveiled plans to publish an updated 10-Year Health Plan, which will set out how projects such as the Trowbridge Integrated Care Centre, among countless others, will help to revolutionise the way in which health and care is delivered across the country.

People can lend their voices to the plan, as well as help in shaping the final version, which is expected in the spring of next year, by visiting www.change.nhs.uk.