RECENT NEWS
Work to start in October on West Midlands older adult unit
Construction work will commence in October for a new-build inpatient unit at Dorothy Pattison Hospital, part of Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, following NHS England/Improvement (NHSE/I) approval of the Full Business Case.
Planning approval for new-build Highgate facility
Hunters Architects’ healthcare team has won planning permission for a new Mental Health Crisis Assessment Service (MHCAS) for the Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust.
'Immersive experience' launched to 'calm and de-stress' London commuters
A new ‘immersive mindfulness experience’ designed and created by Pixel Artworks, ‘Room to Breathe’, opened in London on 25 July.
An international perspective on common issues
The Design in Mental Health Network has recently launched, and highlighted at its 2022 Conference in Coventry in June, the seventh in its series of Design With People in Mind booklets.
Planning green light for Bexhill inpatient facility
Planning permission has been granted to Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to build a new 54-bed mental health hospital on a site in Mount View Street, Bexhill-on-Sea, to replace outdated services at the Department of Psychiatry in Eastbourne.
Rockwool creates ‘UK’s lowest lambda stone wool’
As pressure mounts on the construction industry to deliver more thermally efficient buildings while preserving high standards of fire and acoustic performance, Rockwool has launched NyRock technology.
New North Manchester mental health unit name unveiled
On the NHS’s 74th Anniversary (5 July), Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), announced that the name of its major new inpatient mental health unit to be constructed at North Manchester General Hospital will be ‘North View’.
NHSPS publishes three-year ‘Green Plan’
NHS Property Services (NHSPS) has today (21 June) published its first three-year Green Plan, ‘to transform estates to mitigate the impact of climate change, and drive the NHS to achieve Net Zero carbon status by 2040’.
Young women gain valuable insight into engineering careers
A group of 18 young women have gained an insight into engineering careers through a workshop exploring the challenges of designing a future-proof hospital.
Ensuring a ‘seamless switch’ to higher efficiency water heaters
With updates to Approved Document L of the Building Regulations ruling out non-condensing direct-fired water heaters having just come into force, the hot water industry will be instrumental in ensuring ‘a seamless switch’ to higher efficiency condensing water heaters.
Gothenburg gets ‘world’s first’ optical linen sorting technology
Östra Sjukhuset in Gothenburg, one of four sites that form Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden’s largest university hospital, claims to be ‘setting the global standard in sustainable hospital waste and linen management’ after appointing Envac to install its optical linen sorting technology as part of a major modernisation programme.
Infection control measures could save up to £23 billion annually
Government must ‘seize the post-pandemic opportunity’ to mandate long-term improvements to infection control in commercial, public, and residential buildings ‘to reduce the transmission of future waves of COVID-19, new pandemics, seasonal influenza, and other infectious diseases’.
Emerging leaders wanted as first members of new UK Young Academy
The first UK-wide national Young Academy – a network of early career researchers and professionals – is being launched today (14 June).
‘Run-down buildings’ jeapordising patient safety and performance targets, Confederation says
Patient safety, and the NHS’s ability to drive down waiting lists and hit performance targets, are being ‘severely hampered’ because the NHS has been ‘plagued by one of the worst records for capital investment in the OECD over the past decade’.
Mental health leader among NHS staff recognised in Jubilee Honours
The Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network, Sean Duggan, has been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Honours List.
Framework set to ‘help NHS Trusts manage their estates successfully’
Leading finance and accounting, digital, procurement, and workforce services provider, NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS), has launched its ‘second-generation’ Hard Facilities Management framework agreement.
‘Inspiring’ rehabilitation centre handed over in Wesham
An ‘inspiring’ mental health rehabilitation centre in Lancashire has been handed over to the NHS. Architectural, design, and masterplanning practice, Frank Whittle Partnership (FWP) was appointed by Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCft) to deliver the £9.4 million centre, leading on the redevelopment of an existing hospital building at Wesham, near Blackpool, which had stood empty for over eight years.
Artwork a ‘touchpoint in time’
Illustrator and reportage artist, Emily Thomas, has been working with CW+, the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, as part of her residency at West Middlesex University Hospital, producing a collection of illustrations which capture and celebrate the workforce there.
Former Health Secretary to ‘give evidence’ in cross-party inquiry into NHS estate’s future
The Mayor of Greater Manchester and former Health Secretary, the Rt Hon Andy Burnham, will appear before a cross-party inquiry into the future of healthcare infrastructure next month to provide his expert insight.
‘Inspire the next generation of engineers’, urges new CIBSE President
Inspiring and supporting the next generation of engineers ‘will help society solve the big technical and scientific challenges of today and tomorrow’, said Kevin Mitchell CEng, FCIBSE, the incoming President of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, in his Presidential Address on 5 May.
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Dart Valley Systems offer a comprehensive range of HTM & HBM compliant products designed with healthcare in mind. Selection of the correct products has been shown to increase hand washing compliance and reduce cross contamination.
DVS have achieved extremely high levels of reliability and value for money. Various Health Building Notes...
Design in Mental Health 2025
Manchester Central
3rd - 4th June 2025