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Aston Health Centre

Located on the junction of Bevington Road and Trinity Road, the existing premises was not DDA compliant and needed to be made accessible, modern and fit-for-purpose if it was to expand its service provision. Comprising level two accommodation and having transformed the existing GP space, patients now benefit from consultant-led clinics, such as rheumatology, right in the heart of the community. With specialist services now being provided outside of an acute setting, accessibility for patients has been greatly improved. Quick and efficient premises solutions BaS LIFT worked with HoBtPCT to develop the brief for the refurbishment, including assisting with healthcare planning. Utilising the experience of its specialist design team, building services were re-routed to accommodate the new clinical accommodation and changes to the structure considered from the outset to ensure the project could meet tight operational deadlines. The refurbishment was completed in just eight months, demonstrating BaS LIFT’s ability to deliver quick and efficient premises solutions to meet changing clinical and service objectives.

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Attwood Green Health Care

“The move to the new health centre in Attwood Green has had a really positive effect on staff and patients at the Bath Row and Hyman GP practices and we have received so much great feedback since it opened. The building is spacious and light and gives each practice enough space for it to feel like their own, but with all the benefits of shared resources.” Tracey Millward, Health Centre Manager, NHS Property Services The existing health centre site was too restrictive for redevelopment, with no room to extend the property and the pharmacy already located in a temporary building in the front car park due to a lack of space inside. Coupled with a large programme of redevelopment in the area, including an influx of new housing, more capacity was needed to meet demand. BaS LIFT’s partnership approach was key to the delivery of this much-needed healthcare building. Further along Bath Row, a large site with planning permission for a residential development had been acquired by house builder, Crest Nicholson, as part of its involvement in the large regeneration project known as Park Central. When the local housing association, Optima, decided there was no requirement for social housing on

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Balsall Heath Health Centre

The refurbished facility provides access to a range of primary and community care services, from physiotherapy and chiropody to community nursing and speech and language therapy and was part of HoBtPCT’s strategic aim to deliver health services closer to home. An existing GP practice – previously based in a converted residential property – has also been able to relocate to the centre, benefitting from the purpose-built, high quality facilities.

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Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust Estate Strategy

BaS LIFT has been working with Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust (BCHC) since 2011 as its Strategic Estates Partner, helping the Trust take key estates decisions to support delivery of its Integrated Business Plan. Work has included mapping its estate and service delivery, utilisation studies and formalising its rationalisation plan. The approach to all estates starts with clinical need and the work for BCHC was no exception. Having reviewed the Trust’s existing estate, clinical strategy and business plan, the team prepared a comprehensive five-year estates strategy to support transformation of service delivery, identify efficiencies and prepare the Trust for the transfer of PCT estates in 2013. Work has included mapping its estate and service delivery, utilisation studies and formalising its rationalisation plan. BaS LIFT’s considerable knowledge of the healthcare sector and experienced team including dedicated healthcare planners, means BCHC is actively moving towards utilising its estate in the most efficient way, whilst providing exemplary care for service users in the region.

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Birmingham Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry

The landmark development on the site of the former BBC Pebble Mill studios was developed by Birmingham and Solihull (BaS) LIFT and its private sector development and investment partner Prime plc on behalf of Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHC) and University of Birmingham. The Birmingham Dental Hospital & School of Dentistry is a £50m facility providing high quality dental services to a patient population of around 1.5 million people, and state-of-the-art teaching facilities for the University of Birmingham’s School of Dentistry. The dental hospital replaces the city’s previous facility in St Chad’s Circus, which was more than 50 years old, had become outdated and was no longer fit-for-purpose. The new Birmingham Dental Hospital & School of Dentistry was delivered using the LIFT vehicle, which helped to deliver the project at pace and reduce the time, cost and risk of having to procure via OJEU. It is the largest single healthcare project to be procured through the NHS LIFT programme during its 10-year history. The new dental hospital will see more than 120,000 patients annually and provides a range of services for the public including walk-in emergency dental care, restorative, oral surgery, oral medicine, orthodontics and paediatric dentistry. Patients are treated in

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Chelmsley Wood Primary Care Centre

With the local GP practice operating from a temporary building which had become a target for vandalism, there was a desperate need to improve primary care facilities in the area. The new building acts as a community focus. As well as offering a number of health and social care services in one convenient location, including mental health services, community nursing and health visiting, dental services, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, minor surgery and audiology, the development also includes a community café, offering a meeting point for local residents. The landmark building received an excellent review from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) for its contribution to local renewal and recognizes how the design gives quality to the area, successfully strives against the institutional and offers visitors a welcoming environment.

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Dementia-friendly unit, West Heath

The ward refurbishment at West Heath Hospital, Birmingham, has seen the latest principles in dementia-friendly design used to create a new 18-bed intermediate care facility for patients who have been admitted to hospital but suffer with dementia. The new facility was developed by Birmingham and Solihull (BaS) LIFT and its private sector development partner, Prime, in conjunction with Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust (BCHC). Part of a national pilot scheme, Prime worked with the Trust to secure almost £1 million of funding for the project through the Department of Health’s King’s Fund. With a total refurbishment required – only the roof, floor pad and foundations remained – the team used its extensive project management expertise to co-ordinate the contractor and design team to deliver a successful scheme. The unit features six private en-suite rooms, and three, four-bed bays, as well as an open plan kitchen, dining area, living room, breakout spaces and therapeutic garden. The use of colour, contrasting wall and floor finishes, therapeutic lighting, simple signage and easy to use taps, showers and light switches all help patients to live as independently as possible while recuperating and preparing to go home.

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Finch Road Primary Care Centre

Lozells and East Handsworth is one of Birmingham’s most deprived and ethnically diverse wards. As well as increasing GP capacity, the Finch Road scheme was an opportunity to bring investment into this inner-city area and create a building in which the local community could take pride. BaS LIFT identified a derelict plot of land at one end of the busy high street, which had stood empty for several years. This presented the ideal location for a modern new facility, which would not only be prominent and easily accessible but would act as a catalyst for wider regeneration. However with the development coinciding with community unrest and an outbreak of rioting in the local area, tensions were extremely high. Engagement with stakeholders and the local community was therefore vital to foster support for the new scheme. Despite being a socially complex development, by taking a proactive approach to the project BaS LIFT was able to secure financial backing to fund the scheme and transform the derelict site. As well as ground floor capacity for two general practices, each serving 5,000 patients, the centre offers dental services, physiotherapy, a minor surgery suite, community nursing, health visiting and an onsite pharmacy. The integrated

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Greenridge Primary Care Centre

The building was one of the first ion the BaS LIFT portfolio to embrace sustainable technologies. The double height waiting area encourages natural ventilation with wind catchers used to circulate fresh air, while brise soleil on the building’s south elevation – coupled with the use of existing mature trees – provide solar shading. The scheme has not only improved local healthcare provision but has made significant improvements to the local area. The previously disused frontage along the Yardley Wood Road has been replaced with a vibrant, modern building and car parking provision has been increased, not just for the healthcare facility but for the wider public. Part of the development included a number of road improvements to the immediate vicinity, such as highways improvements to Billesley Common and Moseley Rugby Club, while Birmingham City Council also received improved facilities for its neighbouring maintenance depot.

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Greet Health Care

HoBtPCT was looking to provide additional clinical facilities and administration space to an existing primary care premises. This included an X-Ray and MRI facility, as well as treatment rooms for minor surgery and additional GP accommodation. To avoid disruption to the health centre’s operations, BaS LIFT took a phased approach to the development, with the first phase involving the refurbishment of the existing building and the second comprising a two-storey extension.

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Hodge Hill Primary Care Centre

Hodge Hill is an area of Birmingham that has suffered from lack of investment for a number of years. The catchment area includes a growing older population in need of better health and public services closer to home. Yet, while regeneration was welcomed by the local community, a small percentage did not want new health facilities to be built on the site. This was an area of overgrown land that had once housed a block of flats and was now home to a protected oak tree and a number of beech trees, representing one of the few ‘green’ spaces in the ward. It was clear that a new centre would need to offer more than just health services and become a new community hub that was ‘non-clinical’ and allowed for landscaped outdoor space the community could use. Providing GP services for up to 15,000 patients and flexible accommodation to enable the delivery of a range of primary care services, this includes district nursing, phlebotomy, podiatry, physiotherapy, health visiting, and a range of specialist clinics. The centre is also home to community dental services and health information counselling. Due the number of services, the building’s height and size were stepped so

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Poolway Shared Services Hub

BaS LIFT compiled a strategic needs assessment of the local area, working with the service heads of each of the partner organisations to create a schedule of accommodation. In addition to service planning, a detailed programme of consultation was undertaken with a number of stakeholders. Including Birmingham City Council, the local Primary Care Trust, the Homes and Communities Agency and West Midlands Fire Service, this ensured a series of designs were achieved that would meet aspirations. The joining together of facilities was a key part of the council’s objective to deliver more from limited budgets, with the co-location and integration of services providing a more viable and sustainable way for the local authority to deliver its key aims.

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Richmond Primary Care Centre

BaS LIFT inherited this project when a site and outline planning permission had already been secured by NHS Birmingham East and North. Under this proposal, existing GP premises and NHS offices would have been demolished to make way for the new centre and the occupants temporarily relocated until they could move into the new building. However, when BaS LIFT conducted an appraisal of the scheme, it became apparent that an alternative site option might work more effectively. By working closely with the PCT during the complex process of appraising suitable sites, the team realised there were access problems with the original location and there would also be expense and disruption caused by relocating staff during construction. The development experts were able to show there was a better and more sustainable site which could overcome these drawbacks. At the time, the alternative location was occupied by ‘The Richmond’ – a disused public house, once boasting its own bowling green – which held a prominant corner position at the intersection of Richmond Road and Bordesley Green East. Just under a mile from Heartlands Hospital and with excellent transport links, the one acre site met patient access needs and also had space to

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Sparkbrook Christ Church

Sparkbrook was home to several well-loved but disparate facilities, including Sparkbrook Family Centre, Farm Road Health Centre and on land opposite, the remains of a Victorian Christ Church. With BaS LIFT already in talks with Heart of Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust (HoBtPCT) and Birmingham City Council about delivering new healthcare facilities in the area, BaS LIFT welcomed the church into the scheme, using its development expertise to mix funding streams and facilitate a complex land swap, allowing a complete site reconfiguration. The resulting two-storey church building combines contemporary design with a distinct ecclesiastical feel. Offering more than just a space to worship, the building serves the local and wider community. With a community café at its heart and a flexible multi-use space, the design welcomes new visitors and also offers local residents the opportunity to hire the facility.

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Sparkbrook Community and Health Centre

While Sparkbrook already had a wide range of existing amenities, including a health centre and well-loved family centre, the facilities were outdated and in desperate need of rejuvenation. However the plots of land these stood on were quite small, restricting future development plans and limiting parking provision. When a tornado damaged the Victorian Christ Church opposite – resulting in its eventual demolition – BaS LIFT approached the Diocese of Birmingham about purchasing its land. Further talks revealed the church wanted to retain a presence in the local area but on a much smaller and more sustainable scale. By working with its private sector partner, Prime, BaS LIFT used its funding and development expertise to facilitate a complex land swap. This enabled the church to be rebuilt on the site of the former health centre and family centre and a new combined health and council facility to be developed on the site of the demolished church. In addition to three GP practices, the centre provides community dental services, physiotherapy, and Birmingham City Council’s Customer Service Centre, as well as six offices for social enterprises and flexible community space available to hire.

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Sparkhill Primary Care Centre

With health services in Sparkhill dispersed across the area and many housed in outdated accommodation, an existing primary care building was identified as the ideal location for a new, integrated facility. However with the site spanning less than half an acre and located between two retail buildings on the busy high street, it would be a challenge to create space for all the services required without limiting parking provision or the opportunity for future growth. As well as bringing together a range of improved healthcare facilities in one accessible location – from GP services and dental facilities to specialist services such as counselling and substance abuse advice – Sparkhill Primary Care Centre has been designed to encourage better community engagement. The design and development process involved extensive consultation with stakeholders, including patients, staff, clinicians and local residents. This drove the creation of an outdoor courtyard to provide a safe, green environment in the heart of this busy urban area. With the local population including a number of multi-lingual groups, the implementation of a colour-coded navigational system ensures ease of wayfinding, while a number of community artwork pieces create a welcoming and non-clinical environment.

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Stockland Green Primary Care Centre

The team succeeded in developing the site immediately adjacent to the old facility, therefore eliminating the need for temporary accommodation during construction and avoiding disruption to services. Benefitting from BaS LIFT’s service planning expertise, the three storey building has been designed to maximise available floor space, providing room for a number of services and community facilities. These include speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, community nursing, health visiting, a minor surgery suite, dental facilities and a pharmacy. The provision of shared space and bookable rooms also provides potential expansion space and flexibility for the future.

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Summerfield Primary Care Centre

BaS LIFT identified a plot of land that had remained undeveloped for many years through a mixture of contamination, ownership and planning restrictions. Working with its private sector development partner, BaS LIFT approached the owner of the land – as well as the discount supermarket chain the land was under option to – about an alternative solution. By working as an effective bridge between the private sector supermarket and the public sector land owner, BaS LIFT brought the parties together and agreed a masterplan for a mixed use development incorporating the primary care centre, a supermarket, residential units, a stand-alone commercial space and public parking. Partnership working was key to managing the aspirations of multiple stakeholders and by taking a collaborative approach to development, resulted in the supermarket chain changing its standard design to suit the mixed-scheme. Money from the development was also put towards wider public realm improvements to enhance the local infrastructure. With its striking community-inspired artwork and spacious interiors flooded with natural light, the £11 million health centre provides over 3,000 square metres of high quality accommodation and offers a range of integrated primary care services to more than 16,000 patients. In addition to an urgent care

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The Dove Primary Care Centre

Witton Lodge Community Association and its volunteers played a big part in the development of the centre and BaS LIFT worked closely with them to ensure the community played a vital role in its development. At the start of the project, the ground floor was to incorporate a community association drop-in facility, however funding for this was subsequently withdrawn. The design team worked quickly with the NHS to redesign the space, allowing new services to be incorporated instead – in this instance an urgent care suite. Another notable feature of the centre is its stunning community-inspired artwork. Working with a storyteller and local artist, residents and schoolchildren used stories and ideas about neighbouring Perry Common as the inspiration for some imaginative artwork, including light panels on the walls and a colourful floor for the play area in reception.

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Washwood Heath Health and Wellbeing Centre

Located in an area that suffered from a lack of public investment, the population of Saltley has growing health problems, including diabetes and obesity. The community includes several hard to reach ethnic groups, many of whom harbour a traditional reluctance to visit their GP and a number of older patients who need accessible health services on their doorstep. As well as the need to invest in better health facilities, the community also lacked a place to meet and hold public events. Winning the hearts and minds of the community, BaS LIFT and healthcare design specialists, One Creative Environments Ltd involved the local population from the start, hosting several design workshops and consultation sessions to help shape the facility. The outcome of these sessions ensured the design developed in direct response to the needs of the community including the desire for all services to be accessible from one central atrium – improving wayfinding, ensuring anonymity and allowing for more discreet medical appointments. The community café has established dedicated healthy eating programmes and a small kitchen garden allows community groups to run ‘Grow, Cook and Eat’ workshops and healthy eating sessions. The multi-purpose community space has already proved extremely popular with local

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West Heath Primary Care Centre

South Birmingham Primary Care Trust (PCT) had ambitious plans to improve the provision of primary care in the West Heath area of Birmingham. The existing GP surgery in West Heath was based in a converted house, which was cramped, inflexible and limiting the services the practice could offer. BaS LIFT identified a suitable plot in the grounds of West Heath Hospital and within walking distance of the current surgery. Despite its limited size, the site was conveniently located for patients and staff, however the challenge would be to design a building that would complement the neighbouring hospital and still be easily accessible. The site was behind a brick boundary wall and a row of mature trees, which the local planning authority were keen to retain, however this would completely conceal the centre from view. The development team worked with the planners on an alternative solution, replacing parts of the wall with sections of open railings, allowing the health centre to be visible to patients. The design ensured original character features could be retained, including the wall’s brick pillars and terracotta capping stones. The centre’s flexible spaces and variety of new services available have seen the GPs attract a growing list

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Woodgate Valley Primary Care Centre

The development and design team worked closely with staff and service users to create a facility that would be welcoming, encourage collaborative working and offer flexibility for the future. Through a series of design workshops and consultation sessions, a building solution was developed to include GP treatment and consultation rooms on the ground floor for improved accessibility and staff offices and accommodation for South Birmingham Primary Care Trust on the first floor. In addition to GP services, the £2.3 million centre offers minor surgery, occupational and speech therapy, mental health counselling and an onsite pharmacy. Despite being a pilot scheme for the LIFT programme, the centre was commended by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) for its exciting, colourful and non-institutional design and was recognised as an exemplar scheme for inspiring design excellence.

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