The Old Bridford Ward at the Glenbourne Unit, a psychiatric inpatient facility in Plymouth managed by Livewell Southwest, has undergone significant refurbishment thanks to £3 million awarded by the Department of Health and Social Care and delivered by NHS Property Services Ltd.
The newly unveiled Cotehele Unit is now equipped to provide specialist care for up to 10 older adults in two single-sex wards with ensuite rooms offering a dignified and welcoming environment for people recovering from a mental health crisis.
Michelle Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Livewell Southwest, said:
“Glenbourne is Livewell’s acute mental health hospital for adults who are too unwell to be treated at home. Our colleagues are routinely caring for older people experiencing significant distress.
“A welcoming and state-of-the-art physical ward environment can better support people’s recovery, so we are beyond delighted to have this fantastic facility to help us care for people at such a vulnerable time in their lives.
“A huge thank you to everyone involved in the refurbishment, particularly the Cotehele ward manager and staff, our estate’s colleagues and all of the patients and their families who have been affected by the ward’s temporary relocation.”
James Wakeham, Principal Construction Manager (South West) from NHS Property Services said:
“I am delighted this significant investment in the Glenbourne Unit will provide a more pleasant and dignified environment for patients to receive care in, alongside delivering a facility that enables the hospital’s clinical staff to deliver excellent patient care.”
The refurbishment of Cotehele has been underway for the last year with the support of NHS Property Services Ltd, Nevada Construction, Studio 4 Architects, Macegreen Consulting, Brothwell Irvine and Ex2 Electrical.
Rob Cameron, Director, Macegreen Consulting said:
“We are proud to have been part of the recent refurbishment of the Cotehele ward to provide a greatly improved Older Persons Mental Health facility at the Glenbourne Unit. It was a pleasure to work with all partners in a proactive and collaborative manner, culminating in the successful delivery of this project.
“Despite the Covid-19 restrictions making the construction phase particularly challenging, great partnership working and continuous dialogue ensured the final product has created an environment that provides the highest standard of patient welfare and care.”
Bob Tranckle, Director of Nevada Construction said:
“It has been a pleasure to be involved in this project. Our site team have worked tirelessly to deliver this complex and fast paced scheme which has not been without its challenges. We are delighted with the result and the amount of positive feedback that we have received, yet again our project team has made us proud. The ‘ribbon cutting ceremony’ was full of happy faces and congratulations, which makes all the hard effort worthwhile.”
