Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) is investing £105.9 million in modern facilities with the construction of North View, a new adult mental health inpatient unit to replace Park House, the current mental health unit on the North Manchester General Hospital site.

Work on North View started in August 2022 with the new unit anticipated to be built and operational by 2024. Once completed, the upgrade will see improvements to patient experience, with spacious single bedrooms, each with a private en-suite shower room, as well as a variety of indoor activity areas, meeting rooms for family visiting, multiple gardens, spaces for therapeutic artwork, and a cafe.

It will house a purpose-built psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU), eight adult acute wards, and a treatment suite.

The building has been specifically designed to minimise its environmental impact, through renewable energy sources, innovative technology, and sustainable materials to optimise energy efficiency.

Sustainable features include:

• Solar photovoltaics (PV) panels – these will be incorporated across the building to capture the sun’s energy and convert it into usable electricity.
• Intelligent building management systems – this technology will help monitor and control the building’s energy use.
• Lighting – energy-efficient LED lighting will be fitted throughout as standard.
• Hot water – a combination of solar thermal technology and air-source heat pumps will supply efficient, temperature-controlled hot water throughout.
• Heating – heating will be produced from air-source heat pumps, which will supply underfloor heating and radiant panels throughout the building.
• Ventilation and cooling – ventilation will be provided through a combination of natural ventilation wherever possible, and chilled water from reverse-cycle air-source heat pumps, which will be sent to air conditioning systems to maintain a comfortable temperature. This has been developed through virtual modelling to maximise the efficiency.
• Insulation – the building will be incredibly well insulated, using sustainable materials to prevent heat loss and reduce energy use.

Marc Reed, associate director of capital, estates and facilities at GMMH, said: “We’re incredibly proud to say that North View will be the first all-electric mental health unit in the country. Sustainability and the environment are a huge national agenda and something we’ve been striving to support through the delivery of this project, which can have a significant impact on the health of our communities. It’s extremely important that we do all we can to support this through the design, build and future operation of our new mental health unit for North Manchester.”

He added: “Through renewable energy, innovative technology and sustainable materials, we’ll be able to manage and optimise energy usage and significantly reduce our carbon footprint, while maintaining a comfortable, therapeutic environment for our patients, visitors and staff.”

The new development is part of a wider vision for North Manchester General Hospital to improve the health and wellbeing of its local population over the next ten to 15 years.

GMMH is working with its principal supply chain partner, Integrated Health Projects, to deliver the project.