A FORMER restaurant is set to be converted into a children's health hub for the NHS.
Fareham's Tiffins and Thalis is being stripped out and turned into a one-stop shop for children’s community medical, therapies and nursing services.
Solent NHS Estates and Facilities and developers the Assura Group are currently working on the site in West Street that will in future serve both Fareham and Gosport.
It will have 12 clinical rooms and therapy spaces, as well as first-floor offices and second-floor storage. It will open next year.
Mark Young, Associate Director of Estates Transformation, said: “Transforming a three-storey period building into a modern child development centre is a challenge, but will provide high-quality space in an ideal location in the heart of Fareham.
“We are looking forward to providing larger, more flexible clinical space for our children’s services colleagues, enabling them to give the best possible treatment and care to their young patients in a building that also furthers our carbon reduction aspirations.”
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It comes after Solent opened a sexual health clinic and a children's therapies centre under Vue in Eastleigh.
The new centre will replace children's services being offered at Fareham Health Centre, Lee-on-the-Solent Health Centre, Rowner Health Centre and Fareham Community Hospital.
It will offer community paediatrics, speech therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy - and is set to be highly energy efficient with a net-zero aim.
Richard Brown, Operations Director for Physical and Mental Health Child and Family Services, said: “This is a really exciting opportunity which will enable us to expand our community healthcare provision in the Fareham area.
“Many of our patients need to access more than one of our services, so having our teams at a single larger central base is going to be a very positive step forward for everyone.
“We want our new centre to feel safe, welcoming and family-friendly and, where possible, will be working with staff, patients and their families to ensure the centre has the right look and feel.”
The health hub is close to car parks. Tiffins and Thalis was previously a 176-seat Indian restaurant called Café Tusk.
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