Small Heath Health Centre, Birmingham
Sector:
Health and Social
Client:
NHS Birmingham East and North (formally
East Birmingham Health Authority)
Role:
Lead Consultant & Architect
Value:
£1.8m
Status:
Completed 1994
Small Heath Health Centre is a concrete expression of the Trust′s commitment to a community based mental health service. It represents an opportunistic piece of joint commissioning, bringing together a health centre, GP practice and a community mental health centre with 14 acute beds in the same facility within an inner city location.
This was the first combination of its kind in the country, allowing the sharing of ancillary accommodation, helping to break down the stigma of mental illness and to improve communication between these branches.
Identifying accommodation that could be shared through multi-use of rooms and spaces led to an amalgamation of two separate schemes. The mutual benefits of the combined building are considerable and has provided a local service for all, regardless of the nature of their illness. Shared facilities like those built here represent a new way of thinking in community care, both in terms of service and funding.
This project features in CABE's 'Designed with Care : Design and neighbourhood healthcare buildings' Published in 2006
