Plans to create a centralised health and wellbeing hub in Wood Green have attracted support from patients, but concerns remain over its accessibility.

A consultation by Whittington Health NHS Trust on proposals to move services currently spread out across Haringey to a new site at The Mall in Wood Green High Road revealed most patients were happy to access services in Wood Green.

Under the trust’s plans, a range of services currently provided at Bounds Green Health Centre, Stuart Crescent Health Centre and St Ann’s Hospital would move to the hub. There are also plans for Hornsey Wood Green GP Practice to move to the new location, and a separate survey of the practice’s patients found 75% supported the move.

According to the trust, the hub would provide modern facilities, more joined-up working with partner organisations and good transport links. But a number of those surveyed raised concerns over accessibility, parking and safety. A separate survey of the general public revealed only 32% supported the plans, with 48% against and the rest unsure.

Reports on the consultations were presented to Haringey Council’s overview and scrutiny committee on Monday by a team of local health chiefs. Jonathan Gardner, director of strategy and corporate affairs at Whittington Health, told the meeting that council and voluntary sector services would use the hub as well as the NHS.

He added: “The key thing here is it is not just co-location but integration, so we are really working closely with GP services, mental health services and North Middlesex [Hospital] services, all joining up together in Wood Green so that we can have teams that work across the public sector, working in the same geography, tackling issues holistically and getting to the root causes.”

Labour committee member Michelle Simmons-Safo pointed out that accessibility and drop-off locations were noted as “potential negative risks” in an equalities impact assessment on the proposed move. She asked what provisions would be made for those needing to access mental health services, claiming it was “hard enough for them to come to St Ann’s Hospital”.

Mr Gardner replied that the hub would be “more accessible from a transport point of view”. He said the team needed to ensure it was accessible “in terms of how people come into the building”, but this needed to be balanced against patients’ privacy. He also noted that “extra access” could be provided by allowing patients coming to the hub for GP appointments or other treatments to use mental health services.

Yvonne Denny, a co-opted committee member representing the Church of England, said a lift should be provided at the hub to improve access for people with disabilities. She added: “How do you expect people in the east of the borough, down as far as West Green and Tottenham Hale, to actually get to you? There is no direct route there […] There are a lot of people in this borough that have mobility issues of one sort or another, and I don’t think you’ve catered for them.”

Mr Gardner said the team would make sure the hub was “fully accessible” and was currently getting professional advice on how to do so, as well as talking to people with disabilities. He added: “In terms of the bus accessibility, we do really believe this is going to be easier to access for the majority of the population.”

Liberal Democrat committee member Cllr Pippa Connor, who represents Haringey on the North Central London joint health overview and scrutiny committee, asked whether the hub would allow mental health teams to work closely with the council to help resolve housing problems. She also pointed out that several people who responded to the consultation raised concerns about the privatisation of the NHS.

Rachel Lissauer, assistant director of commissioning at North Central London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust was “closely involved” with the project. She added that regardless of the location of the service, there was a “real need to support people in their housing better at an earlier stage”.

Mr Gardner said the services would be provided by NHS staff, and there wouldn’t be any private work taking place at the hub. But Labour committee member Matt White said there was an “element of privatisation going on” because services would be moving from a state-owned location to a privately-owned building.

Following the debate, the committee asked to be given information on the co-design process and how council services would link up with the hub. Councillors also agreed that they were happy for the team to proceed with the business case and designs for the new facility.