RECENT NEWS

Monkwearmouth Development – a joint venture between Sir Robert McAlpine Capital Ventures and Argon Property Development Solutions, with funding from Railpen, has handed over its first development to NTW Solutions at Monkwearmouth Hospital in Sunderland.

A time capsule has been buried at the construction site of Manchester’s new £105.9 m adult mental health inpatient unit, North View.

To be operated by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), the facility will replace the current Park House adult mental health inpatient unit on the North Manchester General Hospital site. Work on the 150-bedroom unit started in August 2022, with it anticipated to be built and operational this year.

Airedale General Hospital near Keighley is using a new geospatial system to help manage its RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) monitoring and repairs programme.

Procurement organisation and social enterprise, Fusion21, has announced the renewal of its national Materials Supply and Associated Services Framework, worth up to £250 million over four years, and is inviting bids from interested suppliers providing regional or national coverage.

A safety system for plant said by the company to be the market’s ‘most advanced AI human form recognition device’ has won technology solutions specialist, Safety Shield Global, the King’s Award for Enterprise.

ICS Cool Energy, an international temperature control solutions specialist for manufacturing process and facilities applications, has opened a new training suite at its facility in Totton, Southampton.

Abloy UK has further strengthened its team with the appointment of Simon Wilson as Business Development manager for the Healthcare Sector.

Northwood and Pinner Cottage Hospital is set to be redeveloped after achieving full planning permission, with around £11 million to be injected into the project ‘to cement better health outcomes for the 20,000 patients who access the facility’.

With NHS repair backlogs reaching record levels, and – as they put it – ‘the New Hospital Programme facing an uncertain future’, modular construction firms, Darwin Group and Portakabin are calling for ‘a re-think’ around how healthcare estates are planned and funded.

Assa Abloy Door Group has announced a new internal restructure that sees the company joining forces with all comparable business units across Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa, to form a new global division – the Assa Abloy EMEIA Door Business Segment.

NHS Property Services is celebrating the delivery of 25 new social prescribing sites to its partners across the country, achieving its goal of 100 sites being made available for patients.

On 18 April, Per Mertesacker, current manager of the Arsenal Academy (pictured), officially opened 1 Lowther Road, a new NHS Integrated Community Mental Health Centre in Islington.

Over £3.8 billion of taxpayer money has been saved by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) in the last year alone, as the agency celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

The ninth 'Design with People in Mind' booklet from the Design in Mental Health Network (DiMHN), to be published in June, discusses the impact of art in mental healthcare settings, and asks ‘To what extent can art contribute to the making of a therapeutic space, and what evidence is there to support this?’

The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has launched a new specification for ventilation hygiene as part of its ongoing efforts to minimise the risk posed by contaminated indoor air to human health and well-being.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) has installed the first ever piece of outdoor art at Stobhill Hospital’s Mental Health Campus in Glasgow, signalling a summer of work to improve the hospital’s greenspaces and outdoor facilities.

The new 'Designing for Everyone 'toolkit has been developed to help GP practices and health centres improve their buildings and the physical environment for people with learning disabilities, autism, and cognitive impairment.

Commenting on our joint briefing with the Centre for Mental Health and Mind, titled ‘Building a mental health workforce for the future’, Sean Duggan, CEO of the mental health network at the NHS Confederation said: “Mental health services have faced unprecedented demand over the last few years, with the impact of the pandemic and cost of living crisis increasing the amount of people coming forward needing support."

Novus Property Solutions has appointed Sean Ryan as head of Operations for Partnerships, part of its dedicated Interiors service, which it says is a vital element of its five-year growth strategy.

Construction firm, Graham, recently launched an ‘Immersive Pod’ experience to improve the mental health of builders on its Mossley Hill mental health facility construction site in Liverpool.