PLANS for the Maldon Health Hub are moving forward again following the Covid-19 pandemic, local health chiefs have confirmed.

The Maldon Hub has been a pipeline proposal for decades with different sites for the development proposed over time, including land in Wycke Hill and St Peter's Hospital, in Spital Road.

Last September (2020) health chiefs gave the hub - first promised to residents more than 20 years ago - a new target date of September 2024 for delivery of the first phase of the project.

The first phase of the plan for the hub, originally described as "a new community hospital" for the district, is likely to be a new "fit for purpose" premises for Blackwater Medical Centre. In 2016, the target date for the opening of the new facility was 2020.

Giving a new update today (Tuesday, 27 July) on the progress of plans for the hub, a spokesperson for NHS Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group (MECCG), said: "Plans for the Maldon Hub are moving forward after they were paused last year to enable the NHS to focus on the local Covid-19 response.

"We will be engaging with the local community when planning has reached the stage of deciding on the services the hub will host and their accessibility, and we envisage this will be towards the end of 2022."

The health hub was originally planned to provide a mix of primary and secondary health care services. Primary health care services include GP practice, pharmacy, dental and eye care. Secondary services are usually based in a hospital or clinic and can include planned surgery, specialist clinics and rehabilitation.

But progress on the project has repeatedly stumbled into difficulties, including decisions on which site to use, exactly which services should be based there and whether hospital beds should be included or not.

In the meantime, MECCG has also issued advice to patients in the area who may be experiencing delays when trying to contact their GP.

The MECCG spokesperson said: "GP practices have made changes ensure it is safe for people to be seen during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and make sure as many people as possible are protected through playing a key role in the vaccination programme. Practice staff continue to work hard to both protect both patients and staff from the risks of infection and make sure those with the highest needs get seen as quickly.

"GP surgeries remain very busy at the moment and this might mean people may have to wait longer than usual to speak to someone if it's not urgent. To help ease calls to the practices, the local NHS is promoting alternative ways to get medical help and prescriptions online or over the phone through services such as 111 and the NHS App."