First patients welcomed to new £15m health centre

The first patients have been treated at a new £15m health centre in Derbyshire.

The Babington Health Centre has been built on the site of the former Belper Clinic and will offer outpatient services previously offered at the nearby Babington Hospital, which is being decommissioned.

Clinical and support services were moved into the centre on Friday, with the first patients being treated on Monday.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire Community Health Services said: "Babington Health Centre is a major investment in health services for Belper, delivering a modern and welcoming space that will benefit local people for years to come."

The wound care clinic, which will run from the centre seven days a week, was among the first to see a patient at the new site.

Debbie Bowskill, senior wound clinic nurse, said: "We are settling in well and it feels like our new home.

"Until now, our weekend appointments needed to be in other locations but now we can run them all from here."

Other services offered at the centre include community nursing, midwifery, podiatry, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy.

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