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Patients benefitting from refurbishment of Donard Family Practice, Newcastle

7th October 2022

Donard Family Practice.

Almost 12,000 patients are benefitting from a significant refurbishment of Donard Family Practice in Newcastle, thanks to investment from the Department of Health (DoH).

The refurbishment project was funded under the Primary Care Infrastructure Development Programme and supported by the GP Practice.

Elaine Hunter, Programme Director for Primary Care Infrastructure Development at the DoH said: “Supporting investment in GP practices is a key priority for the DoH.  More than £2 million in funding has been provided across the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust area in the last three years, to increase capacity within primary care premises.”

The Practice now offers patients better accessibility and improved facilities following a redesign to bring into use a former garage that was attached to the building.

Patients will now benefit from an additional four clinical consultation rooms, increasing the number of clinical rooms available in the practice to 13 and an updated IT software enabling the Practice to manage telephone calls more efficiently.

The 43 staff working from the site also have more administration space, a new heating system, a modernised fire alarm system and new flooring throughout.

Dr Siobhan Devlin, Donard Family Practice GP said: “Donard Family Practice is a much needed Practice that continues to support the wellbeing of our growing population in Newcastle and Castlewellan. We set high standards in addressing the physical and mental health needs of our communities, so we can improve the patient experience and health outcomes.

“One of the key drivers for the improvement works was the roll out of the Multi-disciplinary Team (MDT) within the Down area.  The MDT includes a team of Physiotherapists, Pharmacists, Social Workers and Mental Health workers who work in general practice, alongside GP and Nursing staff.  Having different health care specialists on one site means our patients get seen quicker and by the right health and social care professional.

“The additional space also allows us to efficiently facilitate the Covid-19 and Flu Vaccination programmes, whilst adhering to social distance guidelines.

“I am confident that our patients will benefit from the refurbishment and equally important, our GPs will be able to focus on what they do best, caring for patients.”

For more information please visit https://www.donardgrouppractice.co.uk/