Building services specialist, Steven Hunt & Associates, has completed the mechanical and electrical concept design for a new £9.2 million Tier 4 CAMHS (Children & Adolescent Mental Health Service) facility, currently under construction on land owned by Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust at the Countess of Chester Health Park.
Designed by Gilling Dod Architects, the Ancora House scheme is being developed by Villicare LLP, a joint venture between the Trust and Ryhurst.
Steven Hunt Associates was appointed directly by the client to engineer the concept building services design, thanks to its expertise in hospital and mental health environments. Design development and implementation is being progressed by the project’s design & build contractor, Eric Wright Construction, with Steven Hunt & Associates retained to oversee detailed design and ensure best practice delivery.
The new facility’s nature required specialist mental health specification expertise; Steven Hunt & Associates has ensured a complete anti-ligature design, with underfloor heating throughout eliminating the use of radiators or pipework. All services are sealed in ceiling and floor voids, while individual controls and isolation switches will be locked in secure services cupboards for each room, accessible only by staff.
Anti-ligature fittings have been specified for all lighting, pressure sensors fitted to doors to patient bedrooms, and air lock security systems installed. An air source heat pump will provide heating and cooling energy for the underfloor heating system, there is a 10.1 kW solar PV installation, and a combined heat and power engine to address the unit’s high domestic hot water demand.
The two-storey facility, scheduled for completion next May, will provide 26 beds in two wards of 12 and 14 beds, a central nursing station, a seclusion suite, and a four-bed psychiatric intensive care unit. The ‘Tier 4’ facility will provide inpatient and day patient care for young people with severe and/or complex mental health conditions ‘beyond the remit of community young people’s mental health services’.