Work has started on a £11 million specialist inpatient care facility for elderly people suffering from mental ill health at Walton Hospital, Chesterfield.
The showcase project will involve demolishing two vacant buildings and delivering a purpose-designed facility with two 24-bedded wards which should greatly improve the care and treatment of elderly patients at the Whitecotes Lane hospital.
All rooms will be single-bedded with en suite facilities, while a “figure-of-eight” layout will ensure the wards have no “dead-ends”, with wide corridors, maximising the natural light.
Mark Barker, a regional director at Race Cottam’s Sheffield office, said: “The ward accommodation is arranged in two loosely rectangular wings mirrored and linked to create two connected 24-bed wards. Each has single patient bedrooms with ancillary accommodation and shared therapeutic spaces. The building form creates an enclosed courtyard garden for patient use throughout the year. We have tried to provide a welcoming, non-institutional atmosphere.”
