Blackburn’s new £21m Barbara Castle Way Health Centre receives first patients.

25th October 2011

Blackburn’s new £21m Barbara Castle Way Health Centre receives first patients.

BLACKBURN’S new £21million health centre is a world away from most people’s idea of a local GP surgery.  The five-storey gleaming building has more in common with a top-class hotel, with comfy chairs and works of art in waiting areas. The Barbara Castle Way Health Centre boasts 121 clinical rooms, and will house around 250 health care workers.

And it is home to GP practices, dentists, mental health clinics, sight and hearing clinics, physiotherapy services, a pharmacy, and family drop-in centre.

The centre also includes a separate ‘Everybody’ resource centre for young people, lit up with a rainbow of external lights, which provides services supporting young people’s health and wellbeing, with the help of Brook, Connexions, LifeLine and Job Centre Plus.

Designed with the help of youngsters working with acclaimed designers, including Will and Sam Boex, famous for their work on the Eden Project, it has a hexagonal theme, running from walls to counters and seating, and handcrafted colourful therapy pods, along with clinical consulting rooms.

The first patients visited the town centre facility, in Simmons Street, yesterday, and all services are due to be in place by November 29.

Sir Bill Taylor, chairman of NHS Blackburn with Darwen Care Trust Plus, said: “I’m delighted that this massive 21st Century construction project has come to a conclusion and the people of Blackburn will soon be able to access this fantastic facility.”