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By John Cunningham Senior Category Manager in Construction & Estates NHS Shared Business Services Photograph shown of the unit taken by Christian Smith photography. |
The recent Lord Darzi report presented us with some astounding facts on mental health in the UK. It was reported that some mental health in-patients are being accommodated in ‘Victoria-era cells’, with confined living spaces, poor bathroom amenities and inoperative facilities. Further to that, it stated that by April 2024, approximately one million people were waiting for mental health services.
Waiting lists have surged and long waits have become normalised. Hundreds of thousands of people are waiting more than a year for first contact with mental health services. Something needed to change, and this was recognised by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, who choose to put patients first when designing its new inpatient unit.
In our recent webinar, we heard from Marc Reed, Associate Director of Capital, Estates & Facilities at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Andrew Arnold, Director/Architect at Gilling Dod Architects, about their project to redevelop North View, a 150 single inpatient bedroom unit in North Manchester that has been built on land adjacent to the existing unit, Park House.
I was lucky enough to hear this presentation for the first time at HEFMA North West, and was keen for the project team to share their learnings and successes with our customers, so they could understand how to build a mental health inpatient unit that improves patient outcomes.
Gilling Dod Architects were awarded to develop plans for the 150-bed unit via our Construction Consultancy Framework Agreement – the predecessor to Healthcare Planning, Construction Consultancy and Ancillary Services. Their aim was to create the future of mental health services, utilising stakeholder engagement to inform the building design and the clinical and operational model.
During the development, the team had to consider:
– Risk reduction
– Resilience
– Flexibility
– Net zero
– Innovation
– Social value
– Inclusivity
The project team worked with a variety of different stakeholders, including clinical, estates, and service users, and engaged with the local community to consider both the Ramblers Association for a local path, and members of the community for a Jewish cemetery that was nearby to complete the project. During the design every element of the build was considered through stakeholder workstreams, that ensured there was a golden thread that ran between everyone in the project. Every element of the project was considered, from the location to the gardens, to the corridors and the beds.
It wasn’t just the design and build to consider though, 860 staff had to be trained to go into the building, with the team managing to train approximately 25 staff a day. To support, they developed a virtual ward identical to the new wards, so staff were familiar with what to expect when the new building opened.
The project wasn’t always straightforward. COVID-19, the cost of materials going up, and the situation in Ukraine meant the team had to “sweat every penny and pound” to achieve their desired outcome. But they overcame the many hurdles and as a result, we have seen that putting the patient at the heart of the NHS to improve patient outcomes is key, and that is just what they have done at North View. To find out more about the project, you can watch the webinar below, or feel free to reach out to me directly with any questions.
