Summerhill Primary Care Centre

Summerhill Primary Care Centre in County Meath is one of 14 new centres being built across Ireland for client the Health Service Executive (HSE).

When completed, the building will be 4,479sqm in size and house a wide range of community-based services such as general practice, dentistry, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and public health nursing.

The HSE had successfully taken the project through design and planning before appointing Prime to review the plans. Once on-board the team worked with the HSE to optimise value, innovation, quality and future-proofing. At Summerhill, the team’s recommendations were wide-reaching, encompassing improved design and room adjacencies as well as adding additional features.

Using its experience in masterplanning, Prime was able to assess the site as a whole rather than focussing solely on clinical facilities. It recommended a number of changes to access and onsite car parking to deliver increased security, reduce congestion, improve visibility and wayfinding and lower ongoing maintenance costs.

Reviewing the building design, changes were also suggested to improve privacy and security immediately outside GP consulting rooms which overlooked surrounding streets. Prime solved this with the suggestion of a landscape buffer zone between the building and pedestrian footpaths.

In addition, the team redesigned the main stairwell for a more pleasing sculptural approach and added ‘supergraphics’ to guide patients on their journey through the building.

Further added value was realised in improvements to landscaping including the addition of a new ground floor terrace, whilst the centre’s facilities were enhanced by new plans for additional staff toilets.