Following a competitive tendering process overseen by Liverpool & Sefton Health Partnership, Graham was chosen as the preferred construction partner to deliver the new facility, on a site owned by the Trust in Mossley Hill, Liverpool. The existing inpatient estate had been identified as an impediment to the recovery of patients.

Designed by architect Gilling Dod, the new inpatient facility will phase out traditional shared dormitory mental health wards to provide 80 single bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms. Throughout the hospital, there will be an emphasis on providing therapeutic spaces with light and airy environments as well as facilities for family visitation and multi-faith worship. Outside, there will be access for patients to spend time in garden areas.

Some parts of the facility have been constructed remotely, so assembly work can continue even when temperatures are too low to work on site. 

Plans for the new development were approved last year, and the former hospital buildings, which were deemed unfit for purpose, have now been pulled down. Demolition experts recycled around 95 per cent of the salvage and buildings were crushed for re-use on site as future building fill materials for the new facility.

The Trust’s chief executive, Prof Joe Rafferty CBE, said: “Work is well underway at Mossley Hill so we can give the people of Liverpool what they need – the very best care in a modern, therapeutic environment with single en-suite facilities and easy access to gardens and open space.”

Dave Sweeney, chair of Liverpool & Sefton Health Partnership (LSHP), added: “I’m delighted to see the work progressing for this important new mental health facility. This is the third project of its kind that Mersey Care has commissioned LSHP to provide project management services for, with Clock View Hospital and Hartley Hospital in Southport completed in 2015 and 2020, respectively.”

The Trust is also set to open a low-secure unit in Maghull in a few months’ time, while other sites, such as Leigh Moss near Alder Hey, have undergone renovation.

BREEAM rating and offsite benefits

The new development will be built to BREEAM Excellent environmental standards, with air-source heat pumps being used instead of fossil fuel-burning gas boilers. High levels of insulation will be achieved through use of modern methods of construction – utilising precisely factory manufactured building components.

“This will provide a therapeutic environment for those with mental health needs, allowing them to rest and recover from their crisis episode,” added Prof Rafferty, “We’re looking forward to seeing our new building, with all of its en-suite single bedroom accommodation, fulfilling a national pledge in improving care standards.”

Providing a national perspective, Maria Caulfield MP, the mental health minister, said: “Every person receiving treatment in a mental health facility deserves to be treated with dignity, respect and privacy, in an appropriate setting. This new facility, supported through government funding to remove dormitories from mental health facilities, will provide the people of Liverpool with the highest standards of care and accommodation.”

She added that the Government is investing an extra £2.3 billion per year into mental health services by 2024, and has pledged to deliver 27,000 extra mental health professionals.

Peter Reavey, Graham’s regional director, said: “It’s a privilege to be named construction partner of this new, state-of-the-art facility for Liverpool, which has been beautifully designed by architect Gilling Dod to provide a modern and therapeutic environment that centres patient recuperation and recovery.”

The new site is expected to open in 2024.