Councillors push for next step in Saddleworth Health Centre

Saddleworth councillors Helen Bishop and Sam Al-Hamdani have met with the local NHS team to lobby for the next step towards a Saddleworth health centre.

With work towards a business case being promised last year, the Councillors are pushing for the business case to be completed soon. That will allow the process of identifying funding for construction to commence. 

Helen Bishop, who covers Saddleworth South, said: “It’s frustrating that the process is taking so long – but we’re keeping the pressure on. This won’t happen without real commitment across the board to make it happen, which is why we’re constantly pushing for the next step forward. 

“This isn’t just about a new building for the GP. It’s about ensuring that services like blood testing are made accessible for people, rather than them having to trek to other centres such as Chadderton or Failsworth, which simply doesn’t make sense.”

The next step for the process is “RIBA stage 3” which takes the idea from a concept to a formal design, with a formal assessment of costings. 

Councillor Al-Hamdani added: “This is the critical element of the process. Until we know how much this will cost, we don’t know which sites are feasible, and what is involved in making them work.

“We’re keeping our options open – while it makes sense to us to use the former Saddleworth School site, at the end of the day, the NHS has to make the sums work. 

“Our main commitment is to get the services people want, as close as we can get them. That means a health centre in the heart of Saddleworth, as soon as it can be achieved.”