A new health facility is to open in Blackpool offering vital dialysis treatment to renal patients in a more accessible location.
The new Fylde Coast Renal Centre will be based at the former CarpetRight premises at unit at 130-138 Cherry Tree Retail Park, off Cherry Tree Road.
This new facility will serve people living in the Blackpool area, and north of the town, who otherwise would have to travel to Clifton Hospital between St Annes and Lytham.
Treatment is to be provided by Diaverum UK Ltd a leading independent provider of renal services in the UK, working in partnership with the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Work on the new facility can now get under way after a planning application to Blackpool Council was approved, allowing work on the building to press ahead.
The application was for external alterations to remove windows and remove and install doors and use of premises at Cherry Tree Retail Park as a medical centre with associated parking.
A supporting letter was provided by Dr Beng So, Clinical Director of Renal Medicine at Royal Preston Hospital, the main centre of the Lancashire Hospital Trust
Dr So stated: “Our service has been responsible for the care and oversight of the dialysis unit co-located at Clifton Hospital site for approximately 20 years.
“This site (Clifton) was selected opportunistically at the time and did not take into account the very many patients who live north of Blackpool.
“More recently, the UK Kidney Association, in conjunction with kidney patients charities, have issued guidance that all new Renal Centres should be sited, ideally, within 30 minutes travel by car, for the population the facility is designed to serve.
“Taking into account site suitability and post code analysis of the approximately 130 patients with FY postcodes currently relying on our service for life sustaining treatment, the site at Cherry Tree Road has emerged as the preferred site.
“It also has the added benefit of having established public transport links which we are keen to encourage the use of among staff and patients.”
A Planning Statement by property consultants Hempton Franks, on behalf of the application, said “The requirement to relocate existing patients and provide additional capacity in the area is being treated with urgency and it is necessary to commence work for establishment, construction and fitting out followed by commissioning and tests.”
It was initially hoped that patients could be treated at the new centre by March 2026, depending on a number factors.
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