Press release - 6 July 2010

Spacious new home for Saltdean practices

Two GP practices in Saltdean are moving from a portacabin and cramped premises into the newly restored elegance of the listed former Grand Ocean Hotel. 

Patients of St Luke’s and Longridge Avenue Surgeries are invited to look round the spacious new premises at an open evening on Tuesday (13 July) between 4 pm and 7 pm. Both practices will move into their new home the following weekend and will open to patients at their new address on Monday 19 July. 

The former hotel, with its striking art deco façade, has recently been restored mainly into residential accommodation with part of the ground floor refurbished to house the two practices, which are co-locating but not merging.  The new accommodation will give both practices the space to expand and the ability to offer new services to patients. 

It will be a change for the better for both practices which have five GPs and around 7,500 patients between them – St Luke’s Surgery is currently housed in a portacabin adjacent to the Lido and Longridge Avenue Surgery is in cramped premises in the same road as the former hotel. 

“We’ve been searching for a new home for these two practices for some time and the striking Grand Ocean development is ideal.  It will enable both practices to offer an even better service for patients, and will provide a much better environment for patients and staff,” said Terry Needle, Director of Assurance and Development at NHS Brighton and Hove. 

“This development is part of our programme to modernise primary care facilities across the city.  Where we’re not able to build new surgeries, we look at innovative ways of using existing buildings.” 

The new premises, developed in partnership with development company GPi, include:

• consulting rooms,
• nurse treatment rooms
• and a health education room. 

The new anti-coagulation service will also be based there. 

Ends