New WELL Runcorn Hub opens in former library building

This morning, Thursday, September 10, saw the official launch of the WELL Runcorn Hub, which has moved into the former library building on Granville Street.

Civic leaders were on hand to cut the ribbon in what health and education chiefs hope will be a vital new resources for the town.

Developed through a partnership between North Cheshire and Mersey NHS Foundation Trust, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, Halton Borough Council and Riverside College, the hub brings together health, wellbeing, education and community support under one roof, helping residents access joined-up services closer to home.

Esme Polshaw, general manager of the WELL Runcorn Hub, told the LDRS it would bring services together in an accessible and welcoming space for the community.

She said: “So the idea is people will come, access an appointment for their health, and be able to come to one of the drop-ins.

“So for example today, we’ve got the stop smoking team, we’ve got the family hub team, we’ve got Halton sensory services, we’ve got Citizens Advice, and we’ve got Halton Cancer Support.”

Services include community midwifery, infant feeding support, NHS health checks, mental health support, stop smoking service, pain management, pulmonary rehabilitation, paediatric occupational health and therapy, as well as adult maths and English courses.

Launching the new facility, Andy Carter, chair of the North Cheshire and Mersey NHS Foundation Trust, told the gathered guests: “This facility is much more than just a building. It’s a place that’s designed around the needs of the community, and a place where residents can just walk in and get the support that they need, advice, education, and services in one genuinely welcoming building, and it’s a place where organizations can work together.”

A spokesman for the trust said that unlike a traditional clinical setting, WELL Runcorn has been intentionally designed to  feel ‘warm, welcoming and community focused’, creating a place people want to visit  rather than feel obliged to attend.

Features include wide accessible doorways, fully  accessible facilities, varied seating options and flexible community spaces designed to encourage people to connect, learn and access support in a single location.

Reconnecting Runcorn was awarded £23.6 million in 2021 from the UK Government’s Towns Fund as part of the Town Deals Programme to deliver the Runcorn Town Investment Plan. The funding enabled the development of eight projects across the town.