Jericho landmarks
Jericho Health Centre
The Jericho Health Centre is by our standards a modern building. But it is already showing its age.
The Health Centre was built in 1971 when Jericho was undergoing intensive redevelopment. It replaced a number of old houses and shops—built for what now seems like a bargain price of £50,220. Also on the site are seven council flats, in 'St. Paul's House', which are above the Health Centre. The rather odd glass frontage in Cranham Street is a residue of what used to be a shop (last occupied by Sketchleys' cleaners).
Currently the Health Centre is the base for nine doctors,
three practice nurses, five district nurses, and two health visitors.
Though there are only around 2,500 people in Jericho, the Centre currently
serves 12,000. Many people settling in Oxford start out in the city centre
then move to the leafier suburbs but keep their doctor.
Now there is severe pressure on space - despite splitting a practice a
few years back and transferring some Jericho people with their doctor
to the North Oxford Health Centre. The building's layout doesn't allow
for what nowadays would be thought essentials - such as rooms for breast-feeding
or baby-changing. And having been designed around one system of patient
record-keeping it had to switch to a different bulkier one that leaves
the receptionists working in cramped conditions. Nor is there sufficient
space for computers. Over time the centre has expanded to include the
shop premises, and nurses now work from what was the caretaker's flat.
Car parking is also a problem for those who come from a distance. There is a curious parking area directly opposite in Cranham Street. This arose at a time when there were plans to close the top of Cranham Street, so this area was created to allow cars to turn. That plan was subsequently abandoned but the space remains.
