North Central London NHS sector trust fail to meet deadline for King's Cross health centre development

Published: 14 April 2011
By TOM FOOT

THOUSANDS of people moving into the King’s Cross railway lands development will have no health centre after flagship proposals collapsed without NHS bosses realising.

The North Central London NHS sector trust has failed to meet a deadline for negotiating a cut-price lease for the prestigious Stanley Building, opposite St Pancras International Station. The Grade II-listed four-storey building was available at a peppercorn rent as part of a planning deal struck with developers Argent more than two years ago.

The centre would have provided a range of specialist services including podiatry, physiotherapy and sexual health.

An NCL spokeswoman told the New Journal on Friday the health centre was “still proposed” and the lease would be “finalised soon”.

But a spokeswoman for Argent said it was definitely too late, adding: “Given the progress taking place at King’s Cross Central we now need to move forward and explore other options to secure a new future for this listed building and that is what we are now doing. It is very disappointing that the PCT has not committed to the walk-in centre.”

More than 5,000 people are moving into King’s Cross and 30,000 new jobs are being created as part of the massive £2billion development.

The Stanley Building was wrapped in a giant Quentin Blake cartoon strip as part of a massive PR promotion two years ago.

Patients will now have to be directed to King’s Cross and Bloomsbury practices, which are run by the profit-making American health giant UnitedHealth UK.

The New Journal understands NCL’s failure to sign the lease – despite recommendations from its board members in June – relates to an emerging crisis in NHS management. Under government health reforms, NHS Camden has been dismantled as part of changes that will see NHS funding taken over by GP consortia. 

During the complex change-over, which has seen 50 per cent of NHS managers axed, an important health facility has been lost. 

Neil Woodnick, chairman of Camden LINk, said the changes were likely to affect the most disadvantaged.

He added: “We need further investigation to assess how the impact of 5,000 new residents is going to be absorbed by the current local health services. 

“Especially considering it will include elderly, frail patients who would not be able to walk very far to get to a GP surgery.”

A report on King’s Cross health centre can be viewed on the LINk website www.camdenlink.info/news