THE changing face of retail means more hospital outpatients clinics and other health facilities are likely to be seen in shopping centres in future.

That is the view of a senior figure at Legal and General (L&G), owner of the Dolphin Centre.

A new NHS assessment centre is opening on the second floor of Beales on Monday.

Thousands of patients will be seen in specialties such as breast screening, musco-skeletal, dermatology and ophthalmology in an attempt to tackle the huge waiting lists backlog.

Greg Westover, fund head of retail and leisure for L&G says the groundbreaking scheme, the first of its kind in the country, is a reflection of how town centres and retail are changing.

He said: “We are always looking at the future and how retail is changing. Shopping centres are not just shopping centres in the traditional sense, they are also about community use.

“We are diversifying in our centres and reframing them is going to include health, education, leisure and lots of other things, not just retail.

“Ashleigh Boreham from the Dorset CCG came to us and said he was looking for 20,000 square feet. I thought Beales was slightly under-utilising their second floor space. I introduced him to chief executive Tony Brown and that’s how it came about.”

L&G has provided some capital to help with the fitting out of the facility – much of it being repurposed with material and equipment from the Nightingale hospitals.

Mr Westover said it was a ‘fantastic’ boost for the Dolphin Centre and Poole town centre with the predicted additional footfall of 157,000 people.

“We have got everything here in terms of transport infrastructure and it will be a very different experience from going to a hospital.

“We are looking to see what else we do with NHS in Poole town centre and across the country.

“How can we help the NHS, how can we help in getting waiting lists down? That’s the next step for us. Without a shadow of a doubt there is no reason why this sort cannot be a permanent part of town centres in future. It’s not all about retail now.”