University of Essex medical centre to move to Parkside site

The new facility will succeed the service's existing building next to the Colchester campus' North Towers accommodation.

Staff said rooms at the site are “cramped” and revealed they have to use portable heaters in the winter due to issues with the building’s heating.

Concerns had also been raised about difficulties maintaining patient confidentiality due to a small reception area.

State of the art - the new medical centre will be housed in the Parkside Office Village (Image: University of Essex)

The strain on services was expected to worsen when the new 1,262 bedroom complex in Knowledge Gateway opens for students to rent.

Colchester Council has now approved the bid to relocate the Rowhedge Surgery-run centre to the Parkside Office Village, found in the campus’ Knowledge Gateway.

The application was jointly submitted by the university and the Rowhedge and University of Essex Medical Practice.

A planning statement reads: “The university has an overarching duty of care to its students and needs to ensure that appropriate health services are provided and available as, where and when they are needed.

Upgrade - the university will now be able to replace its existing medical centre (Image: Newsquest)

“All parties accept that the medical centre is too small to meet the existing needs and needs to be urgently improved before the new student complex on the western Knowledge Gateway opens.”

A university spokesman said: "We are working with our partners in the NHS to develop health facilities to respond to the growth of our campus community."

The centre was first opened in 1989 and by 2007 the university’s student numbers stood at about 7,000.

At the start of the last academic year, this figure had increased to 15,000 students.

New centre - the University of Essex's Colchester campus (Image: Newsquest)

Planning documents reveal the 238sqm centre is only sufficient for 3,471 patients, but in April 2021 it had a list of 12,460.

“The poor working conditions make it hard to retain and recruit staff, as well as deliver a full service,” reads a statement.

“Patients often have to queue outside, regardless of the weather. Staff also sometimes have to go outside to discuss matters with patients in order to maintain confidentiality.

“The rooms that are available are small, cramped and non-compliant with current standards.”