Community Health Partnerships (CHP) is continuing to support the delivery of high quality, accessible health and community services through targeted investment and estate optimisation across its NHS LIFT buildings. For 2025/26, sixteen improvement schemes, totalling £1.147 million, are progressing across the CHP estate through the government’s Utilisation and Modernisation Fund (UMF). These projects focus on minor refurbishments and reconfigurations that unlock additional clinical capacity, ensuring buildings can adapt to evolving population needs.
A central priority of this programme is increasing access to GP services by converting underused or nonclinical rooms into high quality clinical spaces. This approach has already delivered significant benefits at Radcliffe Primary Care Centre in Greater Manchester, where former administrative areas have been repurposed to create new consulting spaces. The additional rooms are helping to strengthen clinical capacity, improve operational workflow, and expand patient access to primary care. It is an excellent example of Neighbourhood health in action.
These improvements align closely with the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan and the wider ambition for a Neighbourhood Health Service bringing essential care closer to home. Increasing local access to GP appointments supports earlier intervention, reduces pressure on hospital services, and contributes to lowering unnecessary Accident and Emergency department attendances.
Radcliffe Primary Care Centre: A Strategic Hub for Local Health and Community Support
Radcliffe Primary Care Centre, where CHP act as Head Tenant, is a core asset for the Greater Manchester (GM) Integrated Care Board (ICB), supporting multiple programmes including the NHS 10‑Year Plan, the Neighbourhood Model, and the Greater Manchester Live Well Initiative.
A comprehensive review of the 91-room building, which is open 7 days a week, is underway to shape future use and strengthen its role as a hub within the neighbourhood with a focus on GP capacity, utilisation, and enhanced community services, including drug and alcohol support, all of which align with the government’s aims to promote prevention within the community.
A £31k boost from UMF has enabled the transformation of an unused dental suite into high-quality space that can be used by existing services. These low-cost changes will make a big difference with a proposed 17000 extra appointments being made available to patients. The conversion of GP rooms into clinical space has strengthened service capacity and improved workflow across clinical teams.
There is space for further development with the ground floor preparing to host Bury Council’s Customer Services Debt and Advisory team bringing a community service into the centre. This move will act as a catalyst for the creation of a living well zone that will position Radcliffe as a fantastic example of neighbourhood health in action.
The surrounding Heywood area is undergoing major regeneration, including improvements to public transport connectivity linking Bury, Rochdale, and Oldham, and the refurbishment of the Civic Centre and adjacent green space. Further redevelopment through the government backed £20 million Plan for Neighbourhoods is set to continue revitalising the local area over the next decade, and the development of Radcliffe Medical Centre highlights how modern, flexible NHS LIFT buildings can act as a catalyst for wider neighbourhood renewal.
By providing high quality, community focused facilities in the heart of neighbourhoods, the centre supports the area’s long term regeneration ambitions, strengthens local service integration, and ensures residents benefit directly from the improvements taking place around them.
Radcliffe is a core building that supports the ICB Strategy not only alongside the NHS 10-year Plan and Neighbourhood Programme but also as part of the GM Live Well Initiative set out as a commitment to ensuring great everyday support is available in every neighbourhood representing a shift in how public services work with people and communities to support patients closer to home.
It was fantastic to visit both Radcliffe Medical Centre and The Pheonix Centre to see first-hand the dedication, innovation, and collaborative spirit driving improvements across the buildings. The work taking place here truly reflects the best of what our LIFT estate can offer flexible, modern spaces that evolve with the needs of the community. What is happening in Radcliffe demonstrates how strong partnerships between CHP, the ICB, local providers and the wider system can create environments where integrated neighbourhood health services can thrive. I am incredibly proud of the progress being made and the commitment shown by all partners to ensuring these centres, particularly Radcliffe, continue to deliver real, positive impact.
Radcliffe Medical Centre is a fantastic example of how modern NHS LIFT buildings can evolve to meet the changing needs of local communities. By transforming the site into a truly integrated health and wellbeing hub, we are creating a space where primary care, community services and wider support teams can come together under one roof. This approach embodies the principles of neighbourhood health services and directly supports the Government’s 10 Year Plan by making essential care more accessible, more coordinated, and closer to home. We are proud to work with our partners to ensure the building continues to play a central role in improving health outcomes in an area of high health need.
Strengthening Partnerships Across Greater Manchester
CHP CEO Wendy Farrington-Chadd and North West Regional Director Jeanette Leach recently visited Radcliffe Medical Centre alongside partners from the NHS Greater Manchester ICB, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Rochdale Health Alliance, Bury Council, and on-site GP practices.
The visit to Radcliffe, and the nearby Pheonix Centre in Heywood, a dual-tenancy building which hosts educational services for local children, reaffirmed the shared commitment to maximising the value of the LIFT estate, improving service integration, and ensuring that buildings continue to meet the needs of local communities alongside key NHS and government aims.
Get support from CHP
Get in touch with your CHP Regional Director and regional Property and Operations team to find out how they can support clinical services at CHP buildings providing high-quality, modern, core NHS facilities for patients in their local communities.
