Shaftesbury and the neighbouring Trinity building sit at the heart of the new Springfield Village community

Construction work has been completed on the new Shaftesbury building at Springfield University Hospital in South West London, with the facility now open to patients.

The unit is home to South West London and St George’s (SWLSTG) Mental Health NHS Trust’s specialist forensic services and follows the opening of the neighbouring Trinity building in late 2022.

Both facilities sit at the heart of the new Springfield Village community, which includes hundreds of homes, a public square, shops, and a 32-acre public park – the largest to open in London since the 2012 Olympics.

Chief executive of South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust, Vanessa Ford, said: “Building better environments for our patients, services users, and staff is key to achieving our trust mission, Making Life Better Together.

“Springfield’s transformation signals the start of an exciting new era for local mental health services as we open up our sites, break down stigma, and bring our hospitals closer to the communities we serve.

“The new Shaftesbury building delivers bright, modern environments that improve inpatient care and support recovery for people struggling with complex mental health issues.

“Along with Trinity and the wider Springfield Village, it symbolises just how much we can achieve through innovative co-design and co-production.

“We now look ahead to investing more than £120m to develop further new hospital buildings across South West London.”

Construction at Springfield began in early 2020 and continued throughout the pandemic, with contractors navigating the challenges successfully to complete the build in budget.

The facilities include eight wards and outpatient facilities for children, young people and adults with ensuite bedrooms, sensory rooms, garden courtyards, and the very-latest safety features and technologies to support patient care.

Other parts of the building house parking areas, corporate offices, a restaurant, and a gym, which will open in the coming months.

Co-designed with staff and patients over a number of years, the facilities also feature a series of 20 artworks designed in partnership with arts and mental health charity, Hospital Rooms.

These were co-created through 120 workshops hosted by leading artists in collaboration with staff and patients at Springfield Hospital.

Harriet Gladwell-Phillips, project manager for contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine Capital Ventures (SRMCV), said: “The completion of the Shaftesbury building is a crucial milestone in the development of Springfield Village and testament to the strength of our partnership with SWLSTG Mental Health Trust.

“We are extremely proud to have delivered facilities that not only provide welcoming, modern environments for patients and staff, but that also demonstrate our collective commitment to destigmatising mental illness and embedding awareness and understanding in Springfield’s growing community.”