A milestone in the major ongoing redevelopment going at England’s best-known high secure mental healthcare facility was celebrated on 3 September, with the topping out of one of the five new buildings which will make up the new Broadmoor Hospital near Bracknell in Berkshire.
Tom Hayhoe, chairman of the West London Mental Health NHS Trust, installed the last beam on District House, a year after construction of the new hospital, by the Trust’s construction partner, Kier, began. He was joined at the ceremony by senior members of the Trust, medical staff, Kier representatives, and people from the local community to mark what the Trust described as a ‘significant project milestone’
The new hospital, which opens in 2017, will replace the existing 150-year-old Victorian structure, which, over time, has become unsuitable for the types of services and care the Trust’s patients require. To address this, in 2012 the Trust put forward a full business case outlining its proposals to redevelop the site, improve services, and ensure that its patients are cared for in a therapeutic setting. The following year, Kier arrived in Crowthorne to begin creating the 234-bed hospital on the existing site.
Kier’s Tom Hayhoe – pictured receiving a gift commemorating the topping out, said: “This is a very special occasion for a unique and historic hospital. Since receiving government approval in December 2013, we have worked tirelessly with Kier, our construction partners, to ensure that our brand new, fit-for-purpose facility will be delivered on time. With the importance of mental health continuing to make national headlines, today’s event is even more significant, and demonstrates that we are another step closer to providing an environment which will allow us to continue making major high secure service improvements for our patients well into the future.”
Welcoming the assembled group, Colin Lamb, managing director of Kier, said: “This ceremony signifies a key point in a long journey for the Trust. As we stand on the threshold of a new era for Broadmoor Hospital, it is right that we take a moment to consider how far we’ve come. We are proud to be working in collaboration with the Trust to deliver an environment that will provide the high standards of clinical and therapeutic care expected in the 21st century.”
West London Mental Health NHS Trust, which runs Broadmoor Hospital, is one of the UK’s largest mental health trusts. It provides a full range of mental health services for children, adults, and older people, living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Hounslow, plus specialist and forensic mental health services, including high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.
