Councillor hits out at snub over medical centre opening
A row has erupted after councillors claim they were snubbed at the official opening of Bingham Medical Centre.
Francis Purdue-Horan, a town and borough councillor, said neither body was aware of the ceremony.
The centre on Newgate Street, which caters for 10,500 patients, has been open since November. Since then, workers have been installing a staff carpark.
The official ceremony was carried out by Bingham county councillor Mr Martin Suthers on Wednesday last week. It was attended by staff members, and representatives from the Rushcliffe Clinical Commissioning Group, developers MF Strawson and construction team Lindum.
Mr Purdue-Horan said: “It’s extremely discourteous of the centre not to recognise the role the two local councils have played in supporting this project, which has been going on for decades.
“It was decided because it was (funded by) private money there was no reason to invite councils.
“However, it was a councillor who cut the ribbon and Rushcliffe Borough Council has got a service desk inside the building.”
Mr Purdue-Horan said councils and the public had campaigned for improvements and had played a key role in shaping the centre.
Dr David Petty, GP at Belvoir Health Group and lead GP for the Bingham project, said: “We particularly wanted to acknowledge the hard work of the project team in finally delivering our plans for a new surgery in Bingham.
“However, we are also grateful to the borough council, the town council and to our own patient participation group for supporting us through all the abortive proposals over the years and for ensuring that Bingham remained a priority for a new health centre.
“Co-locating with community health colleagues from County Health Partnerships and the borough council’s contact centre means we can provide high-quality services for the people of Bingham from this fantastic new building for many years to come.”
Mr Suthers said: “This larger, modern facility brings together a wide range of healthcare services under one roof and has been specifically designed to meet the growing needs of our community. Congratulations to all those involved.”
