Simon Burns, Minister of State for Health, has officially opened Dudley Primary Care Trust’s Brierley Hill Health & Social Care Centre in the West Midlands (HEJ – September 2010).
Commissioned by NHS Dudley and Dudley Council, and project managed by Dudley Infracare LIFT, it is the country’s largest NHS LIFT building to date. A Capita Symonds team oversaw commissioning for the £26.5 m facility, and undertook post-project evaluation, with the 10,000 m2 building designed by Steffian Bradley Architects and built by Carillion. Consulting and structural engineers were Hyder Consulting (UK). Sited on a sharply sloping site of former mine workings, the centre is the area’s first major healthcare development since the 1970s. Accommodating 400 NHS staff, it provides services such as audiology, podiatry, physiotherapy, leg ulcer clinics, and speech and language therapy. Two GP practices, and social care and housing services from Dudley Council, will also be accommodated. The project won the “Design” category at the 2010 LIFT Awards, and was highly commended in the “Community Engagement & User Experience” category.
