Getting to the hub
Let us help you find your way around your new NHS facility.
There is short-stay parking for patients on-site, including parking for Blue Badge holders.
Access to the car park is via Millennium Way.
The car park is managed by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), so please register your car when you arrive, using the machines inside the foyer.
You can park free of charge for three hours while using the hub. Staff in the hub cannot overturn any parking fines so please remember to input your registration number each time you visit.
There is also a drop-off area in the car park near to the hub entrance.
There are several bus routes you can use to get to the hub:
- Westwood Road (35 metres) Route 35/34
- Margate Road (800 metres) Routes 8A / 8X / 9X / 37 / 45A / Loop.
There is a reception area in the main foyer where you can check in and signs to help you find your way around the building.
You can also ask one of our volunteers to help you if you're not sure.
Who runs my service?
The hub contains several NHS services, run by different organisations.
If you’re not sure who provides your service, this list may help:
- St Peter’s Surgery
- All GP services (for patients registered at St Peter’s)
- East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT)
- diagnostics including MRI, phlebotomy, respiratory, sleep studies and echocardiogram (ECHO).
- Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT)
- outpatient clinics including cardiology, podiatry, physiotherapy and children’s therapies.
For St Peter's Surgery, please use self-check in or check-in at reception and take a seat in the GP waiting area.
For EKHUFT diagnostics, please use the self-check in and follow the signs to the Community Diagnostics Centre, where there is a waiting area.
For KCHFT appointments, check in at reception and take a seat. Your clinician will come and collect you.
There are volunteers to show you round if you’re not sure where to go, or you can ask at reception.
Grand opening - May 2026
Volunteer Denise Stone cut the ribbon to officially open the new Thanet Community Health Hub on Thursday, 14 May, 2026.
First patients at the hub
Grace McMahan and Sally Margetts from the EKHUFT respiratory sleep services team, with patient Kieron Moore and his girlfriend, Amber.
30-year-old Kieron Moore, from Ramsgate, was one of the first patients to be seen at the new Thanet Community Health Hub, as the respiratory sleep clinic opened it's doors in November.
Kieron said: “The appointment came through and was a month earlier than the one I had for the Community Diagnostic Centre in Dover, but more importantly, it meant 15 minutes of travel rather than a couple of hours.
“It was actually quite exciting to be one of the first people there and it felt very warm and welcoming. The staff were all great, they were quite excited to be there too – it had a really nice, sort of family feel. If it means you don’t have to wait so long for an appointment, and you don’t have to go into an actual hospital for it, it’s a really good thing for people who live here.”
Patients give new Thanet Community Health Hub the thumbs up
Patients and families are praising the new Thanet Community Health Hub, describing it as modern, welcoming and accessible and highlighting the difference it is making to their care.
Roy Stocker, 92, from Broadstairs, has visited the hub three times since having a toe amputated following complications from diabetes. Previously, his appointments would have taken place at the former St Peter’s GP Surgery site, but the new hub is closer to home and easier for him to get to.
He said: “This is easier for me and nicer. I know all the nurses at the hub now and already feel like part of the furniture.”
For Alan Heptinstall, 77, a retired engineer and former publican from Birchington, the hub has improved his experience of attending respiratory appointments. Alan recently visited for the second time with his wife Marilyn and was seen by Respiratory Associate Practitioner Sarah Clarke.
He said: “The hub is nicer than the place I was going to before for my appointments. This is more accessible, although I would like to see more disabled parking bays. It’s all clean and new and the staff do their best.”
Families with young children are also benefiting, with children’s therapies provided at the hub. Augusta Ugwu took her three-year-old son Zion to the hub for speech and language therapy and said the setting and location made a real difference.
She said: “It’s a really nice place, really spacious, with lots of things covered at the hub. It was just a short drive for me to get to and it was easy to park.
“The therapy gives me new strategies to try, things that I might not have tried before and it feels like I’m doing something to help Zion.”
The Thanet Community Health Hub brings a wide range of community health services together in one purpose-built location, helping people of all ages receive high-quality care closer to home.
What is the hub all about?
We have opened a new health and wellbeing hub in the heart of Thanet, offering a community diagnostic centre, GP services provided by St Peter's Surgery and community services, including community nursing, podiatry, cardiac, children's therapy and respiratory teams.
Our vision is to bring NHS services together under one roof. Our aim is to support people to stay well for longer and, with faster diagnosis, take a more proactive approach to keeping people well.
The project is being led by the East Kent Health and Care Partnership, which is made up of health, care and voluntary sector organisations. Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust are leasing the building. It includes consultation, counselling and treatment rooms.
Why it’s needed and how it could help the community
We want to do more to support people in Thanet to stay healthy and to live longer, healthier lives. Our vision is a centre which brings people together, creates opportunities and helps people connect.
We know there is significant deprivation in Thanet and residents have poorer health outcomes. However, there is a strong history of partnership working and our partners across Thanet are committed to this proposal to deliver new and improved services.
Floorplan
How could the hub support you?
The Thanet Community Health Hub includes:
- an NHS community diagnostic centre (CDC), with respiratory, cardiology and phlebotomy diagnostics.
- In spring 2026, an MRI scanner will be installed, helping more people get faster access to important tests.
- a range of community NHS clinics, including podiatry, cardiac and respiratory.
- a base for community district nursing teams
- relocation of existing St Peter's GP surgery
- capacity to support development of a new model of care, including same-day access to a GP when appropriate
- signposting and support to access health and care services provided by voluntary sector organisations.
We’d like to hear what you think about these plans, what they would mean for you and if there are other services you would like us to explore in the future.
Community diagnostics
The community diagnostic centre will provide quicker access to diagnostic tests closer to home, speeding up the start of treatment and reducing the need for hospital visits.
As a ‘spoke’ to the Buckland Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), which opened in Dover in 2022, the Thanet Community Diagnostic Centre will offer a range of diagnostics, including MRI, phlebotomy, respiratory and echocardiogram (ECHO), bringing further capacity, resilience and sustainability to diagnostic services across east Kent.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT), which owns the Buckland CDC in Dover, will be responsible for the management and delivery of the Thanet CDC. The MRI unit will be located to the side of the main hub, through a connected purpose-built unit. ECHO, phlebotomy and respiratory services will be provided in the main building.
GP surgery
St Peter’s Surgery in Broadstairs has moved to the hub, which is less than a mile away from their old premises. This provides a long-term solution for the practice and will allow an increase in the number of registered patients, as well as expanding services it offers. Separate to the GP surgery, the aim is for the hub to provide capacity to support the development of same-day access to general practice. This will be developed in line with NHS Kent and Medway’s primary care strategy.
Community care
NHS Community nurses, podiatry, cardiac and respiratory teams, will be under one roof, to simplify patient care in a modern, accessible environment. We will explore health promotion services to support people to stay well for longer and, with faster diagnosis, take a more proactive approach to keeping people well.
The community and voluntary sector
The plan is for community and voluntary sector organisations to support the hub, by giving people information, advice and signposting to other organisations that may be able to help them navigate their care and stay well.
Refurbishment underway
Watch our videos from June and October 2025, showing progress on the refurbishment.
Our progress
Take a look at our photos to see the progress in the run-up to completion.
What we think the benefits of the hub will be
“The current premises are very challenging and limit the range of services we can provide. Moving to the hub, less than a mile away, would allow us to increase the number of registered patients and look at expanding the services on offer.”
“An integrated hub at the heart of the Thanet community would help bring us the healthcare we deserve in our community, improve waiting times and bring different NHS services under one roof, while reducing pressure on our existing hospitals. People need to access healthcare when and where they need it and this hub will help to do that.”
‘The proposed site has a number of advantages compared to the existing surgery, including easy access via public transport, more parking and a modern more adaptable building. The extra floor space will increase the scope of treatments available and meet the needs of a growing local community.”
Frequently asked questions
We have looked carefully at what services local people in Thanet need and continue to welcome your thoughts. We want to hear from you and what you have to say will make a difference. While a lot of the space is catered for in these plans, there is additional space in the building on other floors, which we could expand into.
It is your health and wellbeing hub, so what matters to you is very important. We need to know what you think of the plans and if you have any other ideas or concerns.
The building is at the heart of Thanet, near to Westwood Cross shopping centre. It is on a bus route and accessible by car or on foot. The building would mean we could move existing health and wellbeing services from premises where there is poor disabled access. The site is less than a mile from where St Peter’s GP Surgery is and the hub would help them expand and offer more services.
Opening hours will be decided by the services in the building. We have heard people’s concerns about congestion, so we are exploring scheduling appointments to avoid school pick-up and drop-off times.
Part of the hub is being used by St Peter’s Surgery, to offer a service to more local residents. Separate to the GP surgery, the aim is for the hub to provide capacity to develop same-day access to general practice.
The old surgery building had limitations and did not meet regulatory requirements. Additionally, the lease expires in August 2026 and the landlords do not wish to renew it. After reviewing all options, including extending the current site, using existing buildings and a new build, the Thanet Hub was selected.
The last day that the Oaklands Avenue site will be open is Friday, 31 October. The first day St Peter’s Surgery patients will be seen at the Thanet Community Health Hub is Monday, 3 November.
Current patients will remain registered and their details will transfer automatically. Patients will remain with their current GP. A recruitment drive is underway for more GPs, with interviews planned.
Online services will improve and expand. Electronic prescribing will continue as it currently operates. The telephone number for St Peter’s Surgery will remain the same.
Yes, patient choice still remains. Patients will be made aware that waits for their chosen hospital may be longer.
Find out how Keiron Moore was able to get an earlier appointment, thanks to the new Thanet Community Health Hub.
This is something we could consider in later phases. It is noted that My Dentist is planning a new surgery nearby, at the Westwood Cross retail park.
The first patients were welcomed at the Community Diagnostic Centre on Monday, 13 October 2025. St Peter's Surgery and community services provided by Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust will move in November 2025. MRI facilities will open in 2026.
Yes, we intend to have health promotion services at the hub, which would help people to lead a healthier lifestyle, such as giving up smoking and losing weight. We want to be more proactive in preventing health issues. There will also be support with mental health.
On-site parking will be prioritised for patients. There are 59 parking spaces, including disabled bays, drop off points and cycle spaces.
Yes, discussions are ongoing with Stagecoach and Thanet District Council to explore route and stop adjustments
Clinical appointments may be phased to avoid peak times.
The plans are for 10 consultations or examination rooms, two counselling rooms, two treatment rooms, plus eight rooms for community services and six rooms for the community diagnostic centres on the ground floor. There will be additional clinical space on the first floor and the second floor will be for administrative services.
Our vision is to bring community services, such as our community nurses, podiatry, cardiac and respiratory teams, under one roof.
By bringing these services together with general practice and diagnostics, we hope to improve the way the services work together and provide a more holistic approach to patient care, especially for people with complex needs.
As well as increased capacity, better health outcomes and reduced inequalities, the new hub will offer a modern, accessible environment for care, which is better for patients and for colleagues. Centralising services we hope will reduce duplication of resources, improve efficiency and allow more resources to be directed into patient care.
NHS England is providing £10 million to refurbish the building. All of this funding is dedicated to this site. This is not a Private Finance Initiative (PFI).
Twenty-five years.
Staff are trained to uphold confidentiality. Options for dedicated reception space are being considered. There will be self-check-in facilities and private areas for confidential conversations.
