GMMH’s new mental health unit is shortlisted for a Design in Mental Health Award | News and Events

GMMH’s new mental health unit is shortlisted for a Design in Mental Health Award

Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust’s (GMMH) New Park House Development has been shortlisted for a Design in Mental Health Award in the ‘Service User Engagement’ category.

The awards ceremony will take place at the Coventry Building Society Arena on 8 June 2022, during the Design in Mental Health Exhibition and Conference. Run by the Design in Mental Health Network, the awards recognise excellence in solution-led environments for mental health patients to support their wellbeing and recovery journey.

GMMH is gearing up to build a brand-new mental health unit for adults in Manchester at North Manchester General Hospital (NMGH). The £105.9 million development will replace the current Park House mental health inpatient unit situated at NMGH. 

Design visual of the main entrance for the new Park House inpatient unit

The new state-of-the-art unit will see a great improvement to patient experience, with spacious single bedrooms each with private en-suite bathrooms, a variety of indoor activity areas, and multiple outside garden spaces. The modern facilities will utilise the latest technology and therapeutic design, to ensure an environment that is both conducive to recovery and pleasant to live in, work at and visit.

Throughout the development of proposals and designs for the New Park House Development in Manchester, GMMH has engaged with service users, staff, carers and the wider North Manchester community, alongside key stakeholders from the wider health and care system, to ensure it is fit for purpose and all plans are thoroughly informed by and co-created with the communities it will serve.

Andrew Maloney, Director of Human Resources and Deputy Chief Executive for GMMH, said: “We are really pleased that this development has been shortlisted nationally and would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank our service user and carer representatives, the project design and delivery teams and various Trust stakeholders for all of their hard work and expertise that made this possible.

“Service user engagement is really important to us as it helps us improve services for everyone who uses them and leads to more adaptable and accessible mental health environments that support people’s wellbeing and recovery. We wish everyone involved the best of luck!”

Avril Clarke, service user and carer governor for GMMH, said: “It has been great to be involved from the beginning of this substantial project. Service users, or experts by experience, can often offer different views on what is important and can provide valuable insight to GMMH on inclusions for new developments, which may have been previously overlooked. The service user experience is central to GMMH. It can be challenging to engage for the service user but as our opinions are always sought this makes you want to be involved. Myself and all the other service users have enjoyed being part of the whole process.”

As the New Park House Development moves into the next stage, GMMH will be continuing conversations with North Manchester’s communities to hear feedback, test thinking and develop the design further.

The new unit will be built at the same hospital site, but in a different location, meaning current patient care and treatment will not be impacted during construction.

Work on the new building is expected to start in 2022, with the new unit anticipated to be built and operational by 2024.

Design visual of the cafe in the new Park House inpatient unit

You can find out more about this development on GMMH’s website, which has an area dedicated to the new development.

The full list of shortlists for the Design in Mental Health Awards can be found on the website: Awards Shortlist - Design in Mental Health

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