Test Valley nominated for award for transformational Andover Health Hub partnership
Test Valley Borough Council has been nominated for an award for its work with the NHS to create the innovative Andover Health Hub.
National publication, the Local Government Chronicle (LGC), hosts an annual awards ceremony, celebrating councils that have undertaken exceptional work over the past 12 months. TVBC is up for the LGC’s Public Partnership award, which recognises local authorities that have worked with other public sector bodies to improve lives and outcomes for their communities.
Andover Health Hub, located diagonally opposite Boswell’s Café in the Chantry Centre, started out as a covid vaccination centre back in 2021. But the council and its partners, including Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight and Andover Primary Care Network (PCN), saw the opportunity to create a permanent presence in the town centre and offer more joined-up community-based healthcare. And since opening in 2023 it’s gone from strength to strength.
Initially offering a range of services including blood pressure and other health checks in a bid to help prevent and diagnose conditions early on and improve people’s lives in the local community, the hub underwent a major revamp and expansion back in 2025.
This paved the way for the relocation of the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) and Older People’s Mental Health Team (OPMH), adding to the existing services on offer which include NHS health checks for those aged 40 to 74, COVID-19 vaccinations, prostate cancer screening, first contact practitioner physio appointments and pharmacy appointments.
Since January 2023, Andover PCN has delivered upwards of 14,000 appointments from the hub, administered more than 42,500 COVID-19 vaccinations, and provided more than 6,000 of hours of direct patient care, helping to prevent and diagnose conditions early and improve lives locally.
Leader of Test Valley Borough Council, Councillor Phil North, said: “It is brilliant that the LGC has shortlisted us for our partnership working to create the Andover Health Hub. Working with our wider public sector colleagues puts us in the strongest position to achieve the very outcomes for our residents, and they have consistently told us that access to good quality local healthcare is a top priority. And there has been an added benefit to town centre businesses with the increased footfall, giving the local economy a welcome boost.
“The health hub is a great example of what can be achieved when we think beyond organisational boundaries and instead focus on what’s best for our communities, helped by the relationships fostered in the Andover Vision. I look forward to the award ceremony later this year, but to have been shortlisted is fantastic in itself, and a credit to the hard work of our incredible NHS and council colleagues.”
Dr Kate Elliott, Clinical Director at Andover PCN, added: “It is great that the LGC has recognised the fantastic partnership working and innovation that has led to the creation of this wonderful asset for the people of Andover. And it doesn’t end there, as the hub has triggered a new approach to providing health services, which puts the community firmly at its heart.
“In 2025, we ran a citizens’ assembly, bringing together a representative group of people from across the town to share their lived experience and to work with health partners to shape a future vision for health. We’ve also reached out into our local communities, creating new wellbeing worker roles that operate in our local neighbourhoods as part of a new approach to addressing health inequalities.
“Andover Health Hub is more than a building - it’s a vision brought to life through leadership, collaboration, and a relentless focus on resident needs. By transforming access, reducing pressure on practices, and embedding health within the community, it delivers a blueprint for modern, resilient care. And being shortlisted for this award shows that this is being recognised at a national level, which is truly amazing.”
The LGC Awards ceremony will take place on 10 June 2026.