Octopus Healthcare, GP Property Ltd (GPP) and General Practice Investment Corporation (GPI) are delighted to support The Lewisham Care Partnership in its objectives for excellent healthcare provision and GP services in the Borough of Lewisham now and into the future.
The Lewisham Care Partnership (TLCP) was established in June 2017 and sees five primary care partnerships coming together to serve some 58,000 patients across the Borough. With a focus on future proofing patient care for residents in Blackheath, Brockley, Honor Oak, Ladywell, Lee, Lewisham Central, Rushey Green, and St John’s, the new partnership is set to provide a model for other primary care providers.
As property partners to TLCP, Octopus Healthcare, GPP and GPI will work together to develop modern bespoke premises to enhance the range and type of healthcare delivered by TLCP. The role of Octopus Healthcare, GPP and GPI is both for development and investment. The partnership with TLCP has already facilitated a sale to GPP and leaseback of Morden Hill Surgery to GPP, allowing equity release to property owning partners. The sale and leaseback also provides for the eventual replacement of Morden Hill with modern fit for purpose premises, which will enable a much greater variety of services for patients.
Octopus Healthcare and GPP will work with TLCP to devise an Estate Strategy to facilitate the development of new modern premises to replace those that are nearing the end of their useful working period. The new developments will respond to the agenda for greater services to be delivered in primary care, making those services more accessible to patients in primary care rather than having to make separate trips to hospital.
Octopus Healthcare, GPP and GPI believe it is vital to partner with new GP led organisations like TLCP in order to make primary care property truly responsive to changes in commissioning and to realise the desire for more services and greater access to services in primary care.
Colin Stears, Managing Partner of The Lewisham Care Partnership, says:
“We believe that to ensure that primary care providers can meet patient expectations, deliver high quality healthcare services, and implement the GP Forward View, investment must be made in property. Our partnership with Octopus Healthcare, GPP and GPI means we are able to facilitate a sustainable programme of development of primary care properties in the Borough of Lewisham.
By working with our member practices, either by taking on existing premises to ensure they get the investment they need or by developing new purpose built sites, our partnership with Octopus Healthcare will help The Lewisham Care Partnership deliver high quality primary care into the future.”
Tim Meggitt of Octopus Healthcare says:
“With our support and investment The Lewisham Care Partnership will be able to achieve its aims of working at scale, retaining GPs that want to release equity, and successfully recruiting new GP partners to member practices.
Maintaining and improving primary care property is a challenge for many GP practices and can be a significant barrier to meeting patient demand and delivering better healthcare services. By bringing in private sector investment, member practices that want to release equity will be able to become more agile and flexible, as well as benefiting from improved facilities.”
