Collaborative approach helps Trust transform estate

Mental health facilities in England are undergoing something of a transformation, with Trusts across the country working hard to dramatically improve healthcare facilities and patient outcomes.  One of the UK’s largest mental health trusts, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, has put the redevelopment of its assets for the benefit of patients at the core of its investment plans since its inception in 2006. Its ambitious plan came into being some 10 years before the reviews by Sir Robert Naylor and Lord Carter into the NHS’s healthcare estate, and showed real intent by the Trust to deliver transformation of its own estate against a patient-centric vision for excellence.

Inheriting an ageing estate

At the time of its creation, the Trust inherited an ageing estate stretching from Berwick on the Scottish border to Sunderland. The challenge facing it was evident from the beginning – only 5-10 per cent of inpatient facilities were in ‘Estatecode’ condition A or B (i.e. ‘as new’ or operationally safe). Assets held by the Trust were in need of investment, having been in use since the Victorian era. To patients and visitors, the buildings represented an outdated vision of what mental healthcare facilities were, while Trust employees were often working in environments not conducive to the provision of first-class rehabilitation and care.