A new low secure mental healthcare facility just outside Wellington near Taunton is now complete, say the architects, P+HS, who have been working closely with developer, Montpelier Estates, to deliver Wellesley Hospital, which will provide ‘high quality, recovery-centred care’ for a range of users.
P+HS said: “Lying within a generous site, the development comprises four main blocks configured to form an enclosed 75-bed complex over five wards. The main hospital entrance, along with reception, administration, and recreation spaces, such as a café, gym, and sports hall, are located together in Block A, while the remaining three blocks provide ward accommodation. Sub-wards are arranged in 7/8-bed clusters, allowing flexibility to cater for variations in the service-user cohort.
“Each ward has generous social/leisure provision, with lounges, informal seating, and games such as pool. There are also dedicated outdoor space, Activities for Daily Living rooms, and dining areas. Anti-ligature measures are ‘subtle’, and the environment light and uplifting, with the opportunity for a range of therapeutic activities – including woodworking, arts and crafts, and horticulture.”
P+HS says the new hospital – which has been built by BAM – should create over 220 local jobs, and will ‘help alleviate the acute shortage of secure accommodation in the South West, so that vulnerable people will no longer have to travel long distances away from local support to access the specialist care they need’.