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 | | LONDON HEALTH CARE GETS A LIFT | | | Building Better Health | | 21/11/2007 | | | With the unveiling of the acclaimed Green Wrythe Lane health centre, Building Better Health is opening everyone’s eyes to the amazing possibilities the NHS LIFT initiative affords local Primary Care Trusts (PCTs).
The Building Better Health NHS LIFT consortium is giving PCTs a genuine opportunity to not only design feature packed medical centres but also create architecturally striking structures that benefit the entire community.
It does this through a world class supply chain and private sector development experience that combines ambition, investment capital and desire to create public health buildings that enhance wellbeing.
Green Wrythe Lane is a new 1,995m2 health centre in Carshalton, Surrey.
Designed by architects Penoyre & Prasad and built by contractor Willmott Dixon, the three-storey centre was created to replace a modest post-war clinic.
The £4m scheme has swiftly became a real proving ground for the LIFT procurement route, set up in part to help the NHS move away from the uniform, bland architecture of traditional hospitals towards adventurous new designs.
NHS LIFT (Local Improvement and Finance Trust) is a major Department of Health initiative to stimulate investment in modern integrated and community based health services. Bringing private sector experience and finances into public sector schemes, each of the more than 50 LIFT schemes currently underway in England – worth more than £1 billion – have been set up by a joint venture company. This LIFTco is established between the local NHS, PfH (Partnerships for Health) and a private sector partner, such as Building Better Health.
With a 60% stake in the building, the private sector company (comprising a full supply chain of architects, contractors and engineers) works closely with the NHS and PfH to plan, design, construct and maintain the building over a 20-25 year period. Over this time, the NHS pays a “lease plus” payment to use the premises, of which it will eventually have the option to take over complete ownership.
Building Better Health is currently the private sector partner for three LIFT schemes in London, one of which has delivered the architecturally stunning and cleverly laid out Green Wrythe Lane centre
Wrapped around a curved boundary, a pixellated tiled wall leads up to the main entrance. Its strong exterior contrasts well with a softer curved timber-clad
façade to the inner courtyard. Full-length windows allow natural light to flood inside, while a natural ventilation strategy provided via acoustic attenuators
minimises traffic noise.
Internally, one of the driving health principles at the scheme has been to avoid people walking through one department to get to another. Although distinctly zoned, the service areas at Green Wrythe Lane are designed for flexible use, incorporating features such as movable partitions. Hosting one large GP practice, the centre also includes two dental suites as well as community services such as a podiatry clinic, well-baby clinics and speech case study and language therapy. An ambulance is additionally based at the centre.
The building's reinforced concrete frame and concrete soffits provide a thermal mass to the structure, contributing to its “excellent” sustainability rating from the NHS Environmental Assessment Tool (NEAT).
With Green Wrythe Lane, Building Better Health is proving that NHS LIFT really works in practice and, with a raft of equally impressive schemes on their way, the sky is the limit for the future of good healthcare design. | |
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