Anger as Keighley's £15m health centre is dropped (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Anger as Keighley's £15m health centre is dropped

7:00am Thursday 14th February 2013 in News By Miran Rahman

Only a tiny fraction of the £15 million earmarked for the now-scrapped new Keighley Health Centre will be spent on improving the existing building.

Up to £300,000 – just two per cent of the figure allocated for the state-of-the-art replacement complex – has been set aside for repairs.

The news has sparked fury, with one politician accusing the NHS of giving Keighley a “second-class service”.

“I’m disgusted,” said Keighley East Labour councillor Doreen Lee, a member of Bradford Council’s health scrutiny committee.

NHS Airedale, Bradford and Leeds said the U-turn over the new centre was due to a shift towards community-based support teams.

It added the current, 35-year-old centre in Oakworth Road would be retained and brought up to standard.

Maintenance work costing £160,000 is to be carried out, with most of the money earmarked for renewing the roof covering.

A further £140,000 will be used to create consultation rooms and “remodel” waiting and reception areas for the GP practice.

Coun Adrian Naylor (Ind), who represents Craven on Bradford Council, said many questions needed answering.

A NHS Airedale, Bradford and Leeds spokesman said: “During the past 12 months, work to upgrade the car park and replace the windows at Keighley Health Centre has taken place, and additional backlog maintenance for the whole site, including a new roof covering, is due to start soon.”