Per Mertesacker opens the new NHS Integrated Community Mental Health Centre in Islington

Per Mertesacker, current manager of the Arsenal Academy, this week officially opened 1 Lowther Road, a new NHS Integrated Community Mental Health Centre in Islington.

The opening was also attended by representatives from Kier, as well as other key figures from the local community.

Kier recently handed over the new facility to the North London Mental Health Partnership (NLMHP).

The centre is part of the Partnership’s St Pancras Transformation Programme and works included the demolition of the existing facility on site and construction of a new four-storey building with state-of-the-art facilities including interview, counselling, and treatment rooms, agile workspace for staff, a café, group collaboration zones; and landscaping which includes a ‘pocket’ park to support visitor and staff wellbeing.

Kier was appointed to the project through the Procure Partnerships Framework, an £8bn framework created to support NHS trusts, local authorities, education providers, and blue-light services.

David Rowsell, managing director for Kier Construction London, said: “We’re delighted to have handed over this vitally-important integrated community mental health facility to Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust.

“We know this building will support staff and the trust to provide much-needed mental health support for the Islington community.”
Jinjer Kandola MBE, NLMHP chief executive, added: “The partnership is committed to improving the outcomes for all our service users and the quality of the care we provide.

“Through our St Pancras Transformation Programme, we are delivering new leading-edge therapeutic environments for service users and carers and improved working environments for our staff.

“The cutting-edge design of Lowther Road was developed with input from service users, carers, our staff, and the local community, and can be adapted as our needs change over time.”