Picture of health
Date published: 28 September 2009
Time capsule goes in... eft to right, Gail Richards (chief exec. NHS Oldham), Neil Charlesworth (Community First), Riaz Ahmad (chairman NHS Oldham), Cllr. Howard Sykes (leader of Oldham Council), Charlie Parker (chief exec. OMBC). DAM09-09-24/05P
THE doors are ready to slide open at Oldham’s new £20million Integrated Care Centre — which runs on used chip fat.
Recycled cooking oil, which powers the eco-friendly generator, is just one of the innovative measures in the borough’s state-of-the-art health facility.
Automatic internal and external temperature controls ensure a steady 71 degrees Farenheit (22C) while motion sensor lights automatically switch themselves off when no movement is detected.
The 10-storey building opposite the civic centre is bringing a wide range of health and well-being services together under one roof, including some traditionally found in hospital.
Services currently provided in Cannon Street and Marjory Lees health centres, as well as the Walk-in Centre on John Street, will start moving into the building in four weeks’ time, with everything in by January, 2010.
Residents will also be able to access healthy living services, some diagnostic tests, and out-of-hours medical advice. The building has been a key project for NHS Oldham and Community 1st Oldham.
Designed for ease of access, each colour co-ordinated floor efficiently leads patients to their specific treatment area.
On the lower-ground floor are the Adult Learning Disability Services and Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), alongside a public health library which residents can access freely.
The ground floor houses the Walk-in-Centre, the out-of-hours Got To Doc service, immediate urgent care services and pharmacy.
GPs services will be on the first floor, minor procedure and operation rooms on the second floor and dentistry and podiatry on the third floor.
Audiology, orthoptics and speech and language take up the fourth floor. The fifth and sixth floors will be for staff and admin use, with the seventh floor and above earmarked for office space and further development needs.
Visitors and health organisations have now taken the first tour of the new building before NHS Oldham held its annual general meeting on the site.
And to mark the upcoming opening of the centre, a time capsule containing the views of local people and senior representatives from NHS Oldham and Oldham Council was buried near the main entrance.
The capsule, to be opened in September, 2034, contained views on future aspirations for Oldham in the next 25 years.
Gail Richards, chief executive at NHS Oldham, said: “The new ICC is an absolutely fabulous set of services held together under one roof.”
Riaz Ahmad, NHS Oldham chairman, said: “Having the centre open will provide better services for people on the most central site and easily accessible.”
Charlie Parker, chief executive at Oldham Council, said: “This is a great addition to facilities in Oldham and will help people access care in a local way.”
