Health centre a ‘new model’ for primary care

A €15 MILLION healthcare campus to be developed at the former Presentation Convent at Slievekeale road in Waterford city promises to deliver a new model in primary care delivery in Ireland.

Granted planning permission by Waterford City Council this week and modelled on highly regarded British and US examples, Waterford Health Park will offer a wide range of primary healthcare at a single location close to the city centre.

With up to 50 healthcare professionals, the 30,000sq ft facility on a 1.5 acre site being developed by Waterford GP Dr Mark Rowe and the Rowe Creavin Medical Practice will accommodate GPs, dentists, dieticians, opticians, psychologists, counsellors, speech and language therapy, community pharmacy and physiotherapy.

Focused on preventive medicine and health promotion, Waterford Health Park will have a stand-alone Wellness Centre with a concentration on active strategies to avoid illness and disease.

The Presentation Convent is a protected structure that has been part of Waterford’s fabric since the mid-19th century, having been designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, the Gothic architect largely credited with creating the Houses of Parliament at Westminster.

Given this, Waterford-based DHB Architects has been engaged for the project and significant resources are being devoted to conserving the building’s existing features.

Additional space will be created through the addition of two new wings using the latest in sustainable technology to take advantage of solar energy and reusing captured rainwater.

Speaking about the project, on which construction work will start on-site next October with a view to opening in September 2008, Dr Mark Rowe said: “We are very excited about our plans to regenerate the former presentation convent building for healthcare use and to rolling out a ‘one stop shop’ for primary care in Waterford. The Presentation Convent is a tremendously important — though often unseen — part of Waterford’s built history and we look forward to safeguarding our heritage while opening it out to a wider community use.”