A vacant council building is set to become the new home of the blood testing service, which will free up space for clinical work at Derriford Hospital.
From next month one of the council’s biggest office buildings – Windsor House, near the B&Q on Tavistock Road – will welcome the phlebotomy service. The move is part of a deal to help the strategic development of Derriford Hospital and support vital health services in Plymouth.
Windsor House is owned by Plymouth City Council and has been vacant since last summer 2023. As with all major organisations, the council has been adapting to the availability of new technology and working from home practices, instigated during the pandemic, which has radically reduced the need for office space.
The council has said it constantly reviews its properties and assets to make sure they provide value in meeting the needs of services to residents and help them deliver priorities for the city. As such it said this involves both buying and selling properties. In October last year the council announced it was buying a large block of student flats for £5m with a plan to create apartments for homeless families, in response to the housing crisis.
The same month it announced that it was looking to off-load a number of buildings – saying it was set to auction off Midland House in the city centre, the former register office on the Hoe and lease out Windsor House. At that time the council said an unnamed third party was keen on taking over Windsor House office block, which the authority paid £18.25m plus VAT for in 2006.
Windsor House at Derriford, Plymouth
(Image: Google)
Councillor Mark Lowry, Cabinet member for finance said: “We work closely with colleagues in the NHS and we are all too aware of the challenges the hospital faces. This move will help provide some much-needed physical space for clinical work.
“We constantly review our property portfolio to make the most of it for our residents and that includes working with others to address citywide health issues.”
John Stephens, Director of Estates and Facilities at University Hospitals Plymouth said: “We are really pleased to be working with Plymouth City Council to move some of our services to Windsor House. Not only does this free up valuable space at Derriford for clinical services, it ensures this prominent and highly accessible property is utilised for the benefit of our patients and staff.”
doctor in scrubs doing blood test
As the property has been empty for over a year, the council said it was currently carrying out some remedial work to make sure that the building is fit for occupation at the end of the month.
The new Community Phelobotomy Hub will open at Windsor House from Monday February 3.
There is allocated parking for visitors at the front of the building, chargeable at the same rates as the Derriford Hospital main site.
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