A new health centre has officially opened on Southwark's Aylesbury Estate, rehoming two local GP practices.
Aylesbury Medical Centre and East Street Surgery began welcoming patients in February to their purpose-built and fully accessible new premises.
Extra consulting rooms will provide better facilities for staff, an improved experience for patients, and scope for diversifying and expanding services in the years to come.
Both practices will offer practice nurse and GP appointments, as well as access to a range of other health care professionals, including pharmacists, physiotherapists, advanced nurse practitioners and mental health nurses.
The new centre has been named after Dr Harold Moody, after a public vote. Dr Moody came from Jamaica in 1904 to study medicine at King’s College, London. Experiencing racial prejudice, he was unable to gain work as a doctor and so set up his own GP practice in Peckham in 1913. He lived and worked in the area until his death in 1947.
He founded the League of Coloured Peoples in 1931, which challenged racial discrimination and fought for equality. Throughout his life, he fought for employment rights for Black seamen, fair pay for Trinidadian oil workers, and the lifting of the colour bar in the British Armed Forces that prevented the appointment of Black officers.
Councillor Evelyn Akoto, Southwark’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing said: “It’s vital that people have provision in their local communities to support health and wellbeing – the Harold Moody Health Centre is a vital new facility at the heart of the Aylesbury Estate helping to ensure residents have that support at hand. We’re really pleased to have worked closely with the NHS to bring this care to people’s doorsteps."
Dr Arnold Abraham, GP Partner from East Street Surgery said: "We couldn’t be happier to be installed in our new practice premises. The move went well, and all our IT services are up and running. Patients haven’t had to learn a new phone number or reregister, and they’re telling us already how much they like our new home. Our list is open, so we’re also welcoming new patients who want to register."
