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Oxford invests in healthcare

Oxford University will invest over £11 million to re-house the Jericho Health Care Centre in the site of the former Radcliffe Infirmary as part of the University’s plan to “accommodate new teaching and learning space over the next twenty years”.

Proposals for the move described the existing healthcare facility in Jericho as “a building that has become unsuitable for the services it provides.”

The new health care centre will have three GP Surgeries as well as “training, education, visiting consultant services and approved complementary health services”.

Students have agreed about the inadequacy of the existing building.
“I think the facilities that exist currently are inadequate to meet student demand” commented a second year Medic at St Peter’s.
“Every time that I’ve tried to book an appointment, there’s always a delay.”

A player for the University rugby team said, “It will be good to extend healthcare facilities outside the hospital.

“It’s quite inconvenient for a lot of people to go all the way to the JR for physiotherapy. I recently did in my shoulder and moving follow-up care to Jericho would save me a lot of time.”

The University purchased the the Radcliffe Infirmary site in 2003 in order “to provide facilities befitting its international reputation as an institution of learning that will positively reflect upon the historic city of Oxford”.

The new centre is part of a purchase arrangement with the National Health Service which legally obliges the University to provide a site for a health centre.

A spokesperson for the University commented, “The new health centre is being built to honour an agreement arising from a condition of the sale of the Radcliffe Infirmary site to the University, and space in the building will be leased to support the costs.”

“The result will be a larger health centre with modern facilities, a very considerable improvement on the present surgery, and this will benefit all patients.”

The surgeries were contacted but were unavailable to comment.

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