Ellon health centre plan delayed

Under the masterplan, the current GP surgery would be knocked down to make way for its replacement.

The Scottish Government has advised NHS Boards across the country to halt projects which need capital funding.

An update on the new health and care hub was given to members of the Formartine area committee recently.

Shona Campbell of the Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership told councillors NHS Grampian was due to apply for project funding through the Scottish capital investment manual process.

However, the health board was told that a new funding process is currently being developed and asked that the project be paused in the meantime.

A working group will now be established to look at the options available for increasing capacity for delivery of medical and clinical services to the Ellon community.

Ms Campbell said: “We know we don’t have capacity there to be able to do everything that we want to do locally. That means the service to people in Ellon is not equitable to the service received in other areas.”

However work is ongoing to improve the services provided at the Ellon practice.

NHS staff are currently looking at how the Schoolhill facility is used to ensure the health board is making the most of the space there.

Ms Campbell revealed: “If there’s a service we want to start or something that we want to develop, we are aware of that whilst it’s at that development stage.

“Then we can look at does this development actually need clinical space? Or is this a service that would be better delivered somewhere else in the local community?”

However, she admitted that this isn’t solving the problems it currently faces.

“Doing that isn’t making enough of a difference to enable us to deliver all of the services that we want to and deliver them consistently,” she said. “We need a plan B urgently.”

Ellon councillor Isobel Davidson said the delay was “very disappointing news” as local residents had faced a long wait for the new facility.

Ms Davidson asked if the council could free up space in its facilities in the area to allow additional services to be carried out.

She also asked how the surgery was performing as she had received some concerns from residents about its capacity and their struggle to get appointments.

Ms Campbell revealed results from recent GP reviews showed that Ellon was not too different from other practices across the country.

She said the surgery’s rating “wasn’t brilliant but quite consistent with other areas around Aberdeenshire and Scotland as a whole”.

Councillor Gillian Owen also voiced her disappointment, saying it was a “bitter blow” to residents in the Ellon area.

The Ellon and District member said she was “really pleased” there was a working group to carry out “crucial” work.

But she pleaded with the Scottish Government to press on with the new process as she said the town facility is “no longer fit for purpose, full to the brim, and needs addressing pronto”.

Councillor Anne Stirling asked if a letter could be sent to NHS Grampian to express the area committee’s concern and their hope that there would be no further delays.

“I do think we need to keep that pressure on in terms of Ellon being a priority for us,” she stated.

The new medical practice was included as part of a masterplan for the former Ellon Academy site.

The proposal was agreed back in 2020, three years after the old school was demolished.

Under the masterplan, the current GP surgery would be knocked down to make way for its replacement.

New housing is currently being constructed on the site.