New health centre to open in Cheng Yu Tung Building next week

21 June 2022

King Edward Street Medical Practice, 27 Beaumont Street Medical Practice and 28 Beaumont Street GP Practice are delighted to announce that, in partnership with Jesus College, they will be moving into new modern premises in the College’s Cheng Yu Tung Building next week.

The three GP practices will be relocating to the newly-named Northgate Health Centre. Access will be via an entrance on Market Street. The health centre is a 10-minute walk from the current practices, and will serve a patient population of around 20,000 people (including a significant student population) living in or close to Oxford city centre.

The new Northgate Health Centre will be located in Jesus College’s Cheng Yu Tung Building, which is due to open later this year. Access will be via a new entrance at 15 Market Street.

 

The three GP practices will start to deliver primary care services from the new health centre on Monday 27 June 2022. They will remain as independent GP surgeries but will share some facilities and space.

Features of the Northgate Health Centre include:

  • Patient care in modern purpose-built premises led by clinical teams of GPs, practice nurses, health care assistants and community midwives.
  • Provision of 27 consulting and treatment rooms, and a shared minor operations room and shared administrative rooms on the first floor.
  • Patient services provided on one level in the basement (including a shared reception and waiting areas) accessible via two lifts and a wide staircase from the entrance on Market Street.
  • A ‘Changing Places’ facility for people with disabilities (including toilet, shower and changing room).

Dr MaryKate Kirkaldy, a GP partner at King Edward Street Medical Practice, says: “We are all delighted about moving into a modern and spacious health centre in the heart of Oxford. The new purpose-built premises will allow each practice to increase the range of services we currently provide with more specialist health care in the future. We thank all our patients, Jesus College and Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group for their help and support in making this move a reality. However, we will continue to work closely together to ensure the continuing success of the health centre.”

Dr David McCartney, a GP partner at 27 Beaumont Street Medical Practice, says: “The move into the new health centre has been a long journey as we searched for better, bigger and modern premises over the past decade. This endeavour has been very worthwhile and we are ready and eager to start a new chapter in the delivery of effective and high-quality patient care.”

He adds: “While we will work initially as independent practices and share some facilities, the wider plan is to develop closer working ties with each other through our local Primary Care Network (PCN). This is in line with the transformation of the wider NHS and will enable us to share even more clinical resources to serve a bigger patient population in Oxford city in the future. The aim is to integrate with other local health and care providers to create a hub of community healthcare.”

Dr Matthew Easdale, a GP partner at 28 Beaumont Street GP practice says: “The three practices will be sad to be leaving their current premises that for years have delivered care to thousands of patients, but our existing surgery buildings are not suited to the future of healthcare. Over the past ten years it became abundantly clear we needed to find better and more modern facilities, and thankfully we have achieved this goal. We are proud of the new health centre which includes provision for people with disabilities, and there is good access to the premises. The overall design brings in natural light with easy views through the premises to create an airy comfortable feel for people working in the centre.”

Patients are also delighted with the move. Christopher Doogue, a patient at 27 Beaumont Street Medical Practice, says: “I am so pleased to hear about the new GP premises. We will still be located in the centre of Oxford which is very handy because the support I have had from my GP and the team at 27 Beaumont Street practice is second to none.” Margaret Mukherjee, a patient at King Edward Street Medical Practice, says: “We are really looking forward to the new building opening. It will be so much easier for older patients to access.”

Julie Dandridge, Head of Primary Care Services at Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, says: “This new health centre demonstrates our commitment to delivering high quality patient services in Oxfordshire. We have worked closely with the three GP practices and Jesus College to ensure the development of much needed new primary care services in the city. The health centre will benefit patients and their carers who will enjoy better access to services. For our dedicated GPs, health professionals and practice staff they will all be working in modern, state of the art premises providing more space and better facilities than before.”

David Stevenson, Jesus College Property Director, who has led the project for the College, says: “We are looking forward to the opening of the Northgate Health Centre, which will provide vastly improved healthcare services for patients and the local Oxford community. We are delighted to have been able to work with the three NHS practices and Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group to develop a truly exceptional design that focuses solely on patient care and better access.”

More information can be found in the NHS press announcement here. The College’s Cheng Yu Tung Building will formally open later this year.

All media enquiries in regards to the Northgate Health Centre should be made to Richard McCrann, Communications Manager, Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group at Richard.McCrann@nhs.net.