Q. Who are Citycare?
A. Citycare is the company that is delivering the NHS LIFT (Local Improvement Finance Trust) for NHS Hull, the city's primary care trust, and the population of Hull. It is a public private partnership (PPP) between NHS Hull and the Sewell Group, which is responsible for property development, design, construction, maintenance and estates management services delivering over £100m worth of investment over a 25 year period.
Q. What is LIFT?
A. LIFT is a national initiative which was introduced to provide a flexible mechanism for translating health service plans into investment propositions, so developments are geared towards meeting local health needs. LIFT is aimed at removing the disincentives of practicing in inner city areas, by developing innovative and more attractive propositions for GPs and other primary healthcare professionals.
Q. What has Citycare delivered so far?
A. Six brand new community health centres have already been completed in Hull: Newington, Marfleet, Newland, Park, Longhill and Calvert. Meanwhile, sites in Orchard Park, Bilton Grange and Kingswood are on site and a City Centre scheme is due to start on site in August 2009.
Q. What else does Citycare do?
A. Citycare's investment portfolio is continually developing, well beyond the realms of LIFT. As a developer, we are also exploring opportunities to develop community and sports facilities, as well as extra care housing. Meanwhile, we are undertaking a wide range of minor projects, including commercial office refurbishments and general maintenance projects.