York-based Nimbuscare wants to further boost health provision at the former Askham Bar Park’N’Ride with a new type of health centre.

The organisation, which serves 250,000 from 11 GP centres in the area, has applied to erect two extra buildings on the site off Tadcaster Road to create a Primary Care Medical Centre.

Since the start of the pandemic, Nimbuscare has used the site for vaccination against Covid-19 and more recently, flu vaccinations, plus baby and children’s clinics. However, its permitted development rights for the existing temporary buildings expire on December 31.

Now, the provider seeks approval for two more temporary buildings to have the centre operating for a further 18 months to help reduce the backlog of patients, which have arisen due to the pandemic-related lockdowns.

Planning documents submitted to City of York Council say the facility would operate from 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and from 8am to 2pm on Sundays. Staffing on the 1.61ha site would increase from 70 to 80fte.

Nimbuscare says the pandemic has taught the NHS, local councils and others the value of working together to provide joined-up care and support.

Their application continued: ”A Community Care Centre is an exciting new model of holistic community-based care developed by Nimbuscare, in line with the ambition of the NHS Integrated Care Boards. The aim of the Community Care Centre is about bringing together health and care providers and partners to create collaborative and codesign of services to improve the health and wellbeing of local people.

“Community Care Centres bring services to each neighbourhood that historically, you had to travel to such as simple things like blood taking or much-needed services like respiratory and heart failure clinics.”

If approved, services would also include diagnostic testing, imaging and ultrasound services, outpatient medical elective services, retinal screening, NHS health checks, plus other measures to encourage healthy living and ‘health protect’ services.

There would also be benefits advice from the Department of Work and Pensions, plus Citizens Advice, for anything from financial advice to resolving disputes.

There would be 25-30 treatment rooms as part of the proposals, with most appointments 20 minutes long. Up to 80 staff would be on the site at any one time.

The planning application says the development occupies the former Askham Bar Park & Ride site and has extensive areas of car parking, which has been re-organised to accommodate anticipated parking demand.

Furthermore, since Nimbuscare began using the site for vaccinations nearly two years ago, there has been 600,000 patients ‘interactions’ showing the local road network can copy with any extra traffic generated.

It added: “After 18 months this Council owned site will come forward for housing once the proposed temporary use elapses. As such the proposed development will not affect the delivery housing and the Council’s five-year housing land supply.”