News

5th September 2020

Blossom Court completion see’s green shoots of recovery at St Ann’s Hospital

At the end of August, the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust announced the completion of Blossom Court, its new mental health inpatient building at St Ann’s Hospital in Tottenham.

Appointed in 2018, at the outset of the construction journey, Perega played a key role in the project’s successful delivery.

We worked alongside Integrated Health Projects (IHP), to provide civil and structural engineering services for the build under the Department of Health’s ProCure22 (P22) Construction Procurement Framework.

One of the core aspects of our work on this site was providing consultancy to adapt existing roads to suit the new building layout, with the flexibility to accommodate future renovations and site extensions.

Specifically, we advised that the building’s structure was designed as a flat-slab reinforced concrete frame, to facilitate services distribution and to aid future flexibility. The floors were designed in compliance with HTM 08-01 with regard to their dynamic response to in-use vibration.

Further, to support the future sale of part of the site for residential development, we created a drainage strategy and initial road design for planning consent. The plot was ultimately purchased by GLA, and will lead to the construction of much needed housing in the borough of Haringey.

Commenting on some of the project specifics, our Director, Steve McSorley says, “Perhaps the most challenging part of our scope was the integration of the new foul and surface water drainage system and the attenuation requirements into the existing site. We had to work around extensive existing and live buried services and underground services ducts and tunnels as well as coordinating with new services to get the new sewers out to their connection points.”

However, our team’s engineering expertise helped overcome the challenge, helping to deliver great results, easily observed within the finished building.

Blossom Court is a state-of-the-art healthcare centre, specifically designed in conjunction with current, and former, service users and clinical staff to ensure the building is fit for purpose. For example, the style and colours of the interior decor and furniture have been specifically curated to help patients feel calm and safe. The new facility comprises four wards with a total of 74 beds for patients who need inpatient care, including eating disorders.

Commenting on the new facility, Jinjer Kandola, Trust Chief Executive added: “This is a very significant moment for the Trust and I would like to thank all those who have been involved in helping us to this outstanding achievement. Our old wards were in very poor condition, but we now have some the best, most modern mental health facilities in the country, which will help us transform the care of our patients.”

McSorley concludes, “This was an incredible project to be involved in, not least for the inclusive design approach which underpinned it, but also the unique structural engineering and civil challenges we faced over the two years of construction. Testing our team to its limits, Blossom Court represents a great showcase of our creativity and ingenuity to deliver workable solutions, even in the most difficult circumstances.”

Phase 2 of the redevelopment of St Ann’s Hospital is now set to commence, following Blossom Court’s completion. This will include the refurbishment of other site buildings, a new restaurant and improvements to power and water supplies, roads, parking areas and landscaping.

Design practice Medical Architecture and Hulley & Kirkwood Consulting Engineers also worked on the project.

To find out more about our work within the healthcare sector, visit our healthcare projects page.