National acclaim for FWP’s showcase mental health rehabilitation unit

An inspiring mental health rehabilitation centre in Lancashire delivered by Frank Whittle Partnership (FWP) has won a prestigious national design award.

The £9.4m Wesham Rehabilitation Centre has received the Design in Mental Health award for ‘Project of the Year – Refurbishment’.

Leading architect, design and masterplanning practice FWP led on the redevelopment of an existing hospital building at Wesham, which had stood empty for more than eight years.

The construction work on the project for Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCft) was carried out by the Eric Wright Group.

The Design in Mental Health Network awards recognise excellence and innovation in mental health environments that improve patient recovery.

The Wesham Rehabilitation Centre has been refurbished into a new 'Moving-On’ facility with two wings providing 28 ensuite bedrooms, shared day space and a state-of-the-art kitchen facility where service users are encouraged to develop independent living skills.

There is also a large, private garden with raised beds, a poly tunnel, and grassed patio areas to enjoy.
Community space has also been included within the new entrance block to encourage use of the centre by local people, in partnership with the trust.

David Simmons, FWP associate partner attended the awards. He said: “We’re extremely honoured that the Wesham Rehabilitation Centre has received this prestigious national honour.

“It is testament to the work of the whole team involved in the project, which we believe showcases how far mental health design has progressed in recent years.

“User and clinical engagement meetings allowed the design to evolve into a unit that is totally removed from people’s traditional view of a hospital environment.”

Joanna Stark, the trust’s director of operations for Fylde Coast, said: “It’s absolutely fantastic that all the collective hard work and dedication to refurbish the Wesham Rehabilitation Centre has been recognised.

All the teams involved worked tirelessly to create an environment that would help support our service users on their recovery so for this to be recognised means a lot to all involved.”

The Wesham centre is just one of several important refurbishment projects that FWP has worked on for the trust, which provides a range of mental health services for communities in Lancashire and south Cumbria.

Its specialist provision includes inpatient child and adolescent mental health services, perinatal mental health and forensic services including low and medium secure care. The trust also provides a range of physical health and well-being services in the community.

FWP’s specialist mental health team also redesigned the ‘Skylark’ unit in Preston for the trust. This rehabilitation unit is now helping service users recovering from mental health conditions regain the skills associated with day-to-day living.

FWP appointed a strong team of experienced consultants to help deliver the Wesham unit, including Cheadle Hulme-based TACE, which provided mechanical and electrical design support.

TRP Consulting, based in Manchester and Preston, provided civil engineering and structural design and Manchester-headquartered Urban Green has delivered the impressive ecology and external landscape designs.

FWP, which has offices in Preston, Manchester, and London, has a wealth of experience in the healthcare sector.