ICB Leaders respond to Central Bedfordshire Council’s support for additional health and care services in Leighton Buzzard

Commenting on the update from Central Bedfordshire Council, published on Friday 28 July 2023, Dr Rima Makarem, Chair of the BLMK Integrated Care Board, said:

“We are pleased to be working in partnership with CBC and many others to explore innovative solutions to grow our health and care estate, including in Leighton Buzzard, where we have confirmed that we are progressing with an Outline Business Case as the next step in the process to secure additional healthcare provision in the Town.  

“We look forward to working closely with CBC and our other Local Authority partners in Bedford Borough, Luton and Milton Keynes to deliver an estate which is affordable, sustainable and best able to meet rising demand.”

Good quality premises attract quality clinicians and support workforce training, which, together with our drive to alleviate pressure on our GPs by reducing bureaucracy and improving access to a range of healthcare professionals, underpin BLMK’s response to national staff shortages.”

Felicity Cox, Chief Executive of BLMK Integrated Care Board, said:

Our population is one of the fastest growing in England, and we want to make sure we have an estate that can meet this increasing demand for health and care services. That’s why we found an extra £1.95m per year to invest in expansions and improvements to our primary care estate – a 22% increase, taking the total to just under £11m a year by 2025/26.

We continue to work with a range of partners locally, and at regional and national level, to support further investments in our estate to help us meet the needs of our dedicated workforce and the residents we serve.