Thousands of people living at Beam Park in Rainham now have improved access to a range of healthcare services following the opening of a purpose-built medical centre.

Occupying two floors of a 12-storey building in Halewood Way, Beam Park Health Centre includes a brand-new GP surgery and provides a wide range of other specialist community and mental health services to meet the needs of those living and working in the area.

The centre has already welcomed its first patients and this week (1 October) it hosted an official opening, attended by local health leaders and politicians including Rainham and Dagenham MP Margaret Mullane and Havering Council leader Ray Morgon.

They were given a tour of the centre which includes 22 consulting rooms, three interview rooms, one enhanced treatment room and an open plan office with space for 25 desks.

Proposals for Beam Park Health Centre were agreed as part of the planning approval for Countryside Partnerships’ and L&Q’s regeneration of the former Ford car factory site, which includes nearly 4,000 homes and plans to open a new school in September 2025. The project was led by the local NHS, working closely with Barking and Dagenham and Havering councils and the two developers.

As well as housing a GP surgery – Beam Park Medical Practice – the centre provides local access to specialist NHS teams including health visitors, dieticians, children's speech and language therapists, as well as mental health and wellness services, talking therapy services and diabetes, respiratory and cardiac support for those with long-term conditions.

It will also be accessible to Rainham Riverside BID, one of the largest business improvement districts in Europe, with more than 500 businesses and over 5,000 employees.

The opening of the centre supports wider work by NHS North East London to deliver accessible, integrated care in the neighbourhoods where people live and work.

Sarah See, Managing Director for Primary Care at NHS North East London, said :

“It’s really exciting to see this fantastic new health centre open and delivering services. It will be a huge asset to the local community for many years to come.

“As well as providing a range of vital health services for Beam Park residents, it will play an important role in the work we are doing with our local partners to address health inequalities and encourage healthier lifestyles. Having access to high quality services in modern facilities will help people stay fit and well and enable them to lead healthy lives.”

Paul Calaminus, Chief Executive Officer for NELFT NHS Foundation Trust, said : 

“This new centre will allow for an integrated approach to delivering health and wellbeing support and improving outcomes for the local community. Joined up care in one place can make it easier to achieve prevention and early intervention for a range of physical and mental health conditions and make a difference to the lives of thousands of people.”

Councillor Maureen Worby, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration for Barking and Dagenham Council, said:

“This new centre is evidence of the commitment of local partners to provide residents with services they need and deserve. It also demonstrates our commitment to ensure that housing developments in the borough benefit existing residents through new services and opportunities.

Our residents suffer poorer health than other Londoners, much of which is preventable. So it is important that they have access not just to treatment, but also the wider support this centre provides, such as nutrition, mental health and child development which will help our residents live healthy, happy lives.”

Councillor Ray Morgon, Leader of Havering Council, said :

“The health centre will bring much-needed new modern facilities to the residents of Beam Park and its surrounding areas, and supports our commitment that where new homes are built that appropriate new infrastructure is completed too. 

“The new, modern facilities will help to deliver our promises to tackle health inequalities in some areas of the borough, and with around 44% of the area allocated to publicly accessible green space, it will make it easier for residents to be physically active and maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

Jacqueline Esimaje-Heath, on behalf of the £1bn Beam Park regeneration joint venture between Countryside Partnerships (part of Vistry Group) and L&Q, said: 

“We are very pleased to be celebrating the opening of the Health Centre at Beam Park, a fantastic facility to support the growing community at Beam Park. 

"As well as delivering a mix of high-quality homes, we are working hard to provide the infrastructure, green spaces and facilities that residents need to create long-lasting, sustainable communities. This is an important milestone for the regeneration of Beam Park and testament to the hard work and shared commitment of our delivery team and partners.” 

For more information on Beam Park Medical Practice, including how to register as a patient, visit www.beamparkmedicalpractice.co.uk or visit the surgery in person.