VINCI's IHP team, a joint venture between VINCI Construction UK and Sir Robert McAlpine, has officially broken ground at the site of a new 40-bed specialist low-secure hospital for people with learning disabilities at Maghull Health Park, Merseyside.
Preliminary work is now under way for the state-of-the-art hospital, which will be a landmark for a new model of care at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.
The £33m hospital will be built on approximately 6.5 acres of land to the east of Villas Road on the Mersey Care-owned site, following approvals from Sefton Council’s planning committee and the Department of Health and Social Care.
Mersey Care’s chief executive, Professor Joe Rafferty CBE, said: “We are delighted to have started work on this new chapter of learning disability care.
“It builds on a long tradition of hospitals providing specialist care in the Maghull area and is another part of our development of Maghull Health Park as a centre of excellence.
“This new hospital has been designed with great precision and care. It will look beautiful and will include low-carbon features and be energy efficient.
“Essentially, though, it will provide support for people across the region requiring complex care in a therapeutic low-secure setting to the very-highest standards that they deserve and need.”
NHS England regional medical director for commissioning, Dr Michael Gregory, adds: “I’m delighted to see Mersey Care’s commitment to an innovative new model of care being realised in Maghull.
“We want to see this site supporting vulnerable people through services and back into their own communities and I look forward to seeing work here progress.”
Designed by Gilling Dod Architects, the building is expected to be completed in the summer of 2023.
It will cater for men and women with a diagnosis of learning disability, autism, and comorbid conditions, with each patient having their own bedroom with en-suite bathroom, plus a range of activity areas and therapeutic spaces.