High-quality care — all under one roof
Reporter: BEATRIZ AYALA
Date published: 05 October 2010
£10m health centre opens doors to patients
THE doors will open this week at the new state-of-the-art Royton Health and Well-being Centre.
The £10 million three-storey centre, bounded by Macauley Street, Cardigan Street and Byron Street, replaces the cramped and poorly laid-out Royton Health Centre.
Inside the new building, the ground floor will house two GP practices — Royton and Crompton Family Practice and The Parks Medical Practice — as well as a pharmacy.
Community and school nursing teams, Royton Dental Care and services such as podiatry and orthoptics will be on the first floor.
The top floor will be reserved for office and staff space.
The new centre will host specialist clinics, including child health, new-born hearing, mental health and post-natal.
Royton Dental Care moved in today, with the two GP practices, health visitors, district nurses, podiatry, child health, orthoptics and other remaining services following next Tuesday.
Plans have been put in place to minimise any disruption to patients while services move and patients have been informed.
Dr John Kelly, a GP at Royton and Crompton Practice, said: “Providing a high-quality service to our patients is at the heart of everything we do.
“This new building will provide the facilities we need to deliver that care in a modern environment designed to meet the challenges of primary care in the 21st century.”
Patients and local residents can look around the centre during an open afternoon on Thursday, from 3 to 5.30pm.
Gail Richards, chief executive of NHS Oldham, said: “This has been in the pipeline, as part of the development work we’ve been doing with our private and public sector partners, for more than five years.
“There will be challenges ahead as we move in to the future, with some difficult decisions to take locally in relation to our public services in Oldham.
“So we’re pleased that patients and staff will be able to benefit from the new building and the opportunity it offers for people to make the best possible use of the NHS by using its services wisely.”
The building boasts a series of sustainable features, including an innovative combined heat and power (CHP) generating system, which uses a waste product bio-fuel with low carbon emissions and results in approximately 90 per cent carbon reduction for the building.
It also has low-energy lighting, rainwater harvesting and uses sustainable materials wherever possible.
Work will begin on the public space outside the health centre in the next few weeks.
Neil Charlesworth, general manager of Community 1st Oldham Ltd, which headed the project, said: “Working with construction partner Mansell we have delivered the new building on time and on budget for the local community.”
