26th Oct 2023

Springfield Hospital finishes with opening of new Shaftesbury building

Congratulations to our project team on the Shaftesbury Building at Springfield Hospital in South-West London which has now officially opened.

The £150m transformation of Springfield University Hospital in South West London concluded this month as the new Shaftesbury building opened to patients and service users.

The new facility is home to South West London and St George's (SWLSTG) Mental Health NHS Trust’s specialist forensic services and follows the neighbouring Trinity building which opened in late 2022. Both facilities sit at the heart of the new Springfield Village community which includes hundreds of new homes, a public square, shops and a 32-acre public park – the largest to open in London since the 2012 Olympics.

Chief Executive of South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust, Vanessa Ford, said:

“Building better environments for our patients, services users and staff is key to achieving our Trust mission, Making Life Better Together. Springfield’s transformation signals the start of an exciting new era for local mental health services as we open up our sites, break down stigma and bring our hospitals closer to the communities we serve.” 

“The new Shaftesbury building delivers bright, modern environments that improves inpatient care and supports recovery for people struggling with complex mental health issues. Along with Trinity and the wider Springfield Village, it symbolises just how much we can achieve through innovative co-design and co-production. We now look ahead to investing more than £120m to develop further new hospital buildings across South West London.” 

Construction at Springfield began in early 2020 and continued throughout the pandemic, with contractors navigating the challenges successfully to complete the build in-budget. Between December 2022 and October 2023, over 700 staff and patients have moved safely into Trinity and Shaftesbury. The facilities include eight wards and outpatient facilities for children, young people and adults. The inpatient wards are bright and spacious with ensuite bedrooms, sensory rooms, garden courtyards and the very latest safety features and technologies to support patient care. 

Manager of Ruby Ward, Toheeb Bawala, said:

“We are delighted to have moved from older facilities into these fantastic new environments. It has been a big month for everyone in our specialist services, but we are so pleased with our new facilities. The bright, modern feel of the building makes a real difference to the atmosphere on our ward and already we are seeing the impact this has for our patients and our teams.”

Originally opened by and named after comedian and mental health advocate Ruby Wax, Ruby Ward is one of four specialist wards in Shaftesbury alongside Hume, Halswell and Oak Unit. Other parts of the building house parking areas, corporate offices, a restaurant and a gym which will open in the coming months.

Co-designed with staff and patients over a number of years, the facilities also feature a series of 20 artworks designed in partnership with arts and mental health charity Hospital Rooms. These were co-created through 120 workshops hosted by leading artists in collaboration with staff and patients at Springfield Hospital.

Harriet Gladwell-Phillips, Project Manager, Sir Robert McAlpine Capital Ventures (SRMCV), said: 

“The completion of the Shaftesbury building is a crucial milestone in the development of Springfield Village and testament to the strength of our partnership with SWLSTG Mental Health Trust. We are extremely proud to have delivered facilities that not only provide welcoming, modern environments for patients and staff, but that also demonstrate our collective commitment to destigmatising mental illness and embedding awareness and understanding in Springfield’s growing community."

Liam, a service user involved in the project, said:

“Joining the Hospital Rooms project has been lifechanging for me. The opportunities I’ve had to meet new people, learn new skills, and spend time being creative has had enormous positive effects on my mental wellbeing and recovery.”

SWLSTG Mental Health NHS Trust entered into a contract with Master developer STEP in 2019 to deliver the Springfield Village master plan including two new state-of-the-art mental health buildings. STEP is a partnership between Sir Robert McAlpine Capital Ventures and Kajima Partnerships who have a demonstrable record of delivering in partnership with the public sector. STEP’s main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd is responsible for the construction of the new mental health buildings as well as the wider estate infrastructure and Springfield Park.

Find out more about the developments at Springfield Hospital here.

Take a tour of Shaftesbury building

[Music]
welcome to the Shaftesbury building at
Springfield University Hospital Shaftesbury is
a low to medium secure building that
houses forensic services for patients
that require specialist Mental Health
Care opened in October
20123 shury sits within Springfield
Village a stigma breaking landscape made
up of mental health facilities
residential neighborhoods a Public
Square Shops and a 32 acre public park
the building has been designed hand inh
hand with our patients carers and staff
following a great deal of feedback and
partnership work sh spry provides
best-in-class facilities for our
forensic specialist service it includes
four impatient Wards Hume hsell Ruby and
Oak units each board has a lounge dining
room and recreational space where
patients can come together and relax
space light and nature were the guide
guiding principles in the building's
development the result is a set of warm
and welcoming spaces that support
recovery and Care in bright peaceful and
modern
environments the wards in the building
also have family rooms where patients
can spend time with friends and loved
ones as well as recreational spaces all
Wards have an activity kitchen for
patients a domestic bathroom a laundry
room and a telephone room bright
spacious corridor lead through to
patients bedrooms which feature on suite
bathrooms and temperature controls
supporting patients Comfort privacy and
dignity Ruby Ward and Oak unit also have
accessible bedrooms Each of which have
been specially adapted to provide more
space and improve
accessibility restful Garden spaces
feature prominently throughout the
building each Ward features two
beautifully landscaped Gardens like this
one in Ruby Ward giving patients access
to spaces for recreation and exercise
the activity rooms in each Ward also
offers patients the opportunity to
engage in a range of therapeutic
activities including art music and
movement therapy like the other patient
spaces in Shaftesbury Oak unit has a bright
expansive layout with similar features
and spaces for patients to enjoy the
recreational space is surrounded by a
windowed Atrium to bring in more light
this improves visibility through to
corridors and bedroom do
supporting improved sight lines for
staff and patients the unit also
features a Consulting room and a sensory
room sensory rooms give patients access
to different audio and visual stimuli to
support people to understand and manage
complex
emotions we have partnered with arts and
mental health Charity Hospital rooms to
co-produce 20 specially commissioned
artworks by Major artists together these
help to create a vibrant and warm
environment that supports recovery and
Care exercise is so important for good
mental well-being and sha spris is
equipped with a large Sports Hall and
gymnasium which can be used for both
staff and patients to play different
sports and keep fit the building also
has a multia room accessible to all
which features more of the dynamic and
inspiring artwork created by hospital
rooms Cafe connect is a social space for
patients to enjoy and is is also where
service users have the opportunity to
take part in a range of courses and
vocational training similarly Char's
Library gives patients supervised access
to computers where they can undertake IT
training life skills and work on college
courses overall the shb building is part
of a bold landscape at Springfield
University Hospital that redefines how
we think about mental health and mental
illness these environments support
recovery and Care in new innovative ways
and supports our staff to provide high
quality care to people across Southwest
London together this supports our trust
Mission making life better
together

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