Helping the Community

Frank Whittle Partnership (FWP) has a wealth of experience in the healthcare sector.

We have a successful track record of delivering NHS projects across the North West over the last 25 years.

In this series we look at some of the projects we have been involved in over that time and the impact they have had on the health of people across the region.

We start with current plans to deliver a new NHS rehabilitation centre.

Helping the community

FWP has been appointed by Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust to deliver the redevelopment of an existing hospital building at Wesham, which has been empty for more than eight years.

The new “community facing rehabilitation service” will be based in the fully refurbished building which includes a modern, part clad entrance area extension and which will include 28 en-suite bedrooms.

Work is now underway on site with the new unit scheduled to open later this year.

There will be therapy areas and expansive gardens including vegetable growing spaces with therapy areas making full use of the site which has had input from local support groups to ensure the new residents can make the most of the site with external designs by Urban Green.

The plans include a specially designed kitchen area comprising food preparation and cooking islands, where service users will be able to cook all their own meals with staff support. A separate dining room extension overlooking a therapy garden is included.

Community space has been included within the new entrance block to encourage use of the site by local residents and groups in partnership with the trust.

The Wesham unit, on Mowbreck Lane, will focus on residents recovery from complex mental health problems.

The FWP team describes the new facility as “warm and welcoming”, with a “non-clinical feel” throughout.

Neil Milling, project lead at FWP, said: “Working closely with the trust, the project will create a modern facility that is warm and welcoming for both service users and staff and has a distinct non-clinical feel to it.

“As with our previous work with the trust, our aim is to deliver something that is far removed from people’s traditional view of a hospital unit.

“At the same time, we will deliver a robust and safe environment that fully meets the needs of the new community facing rehabilitation service operating in the building and those it is looking to help and support.”

Design work using a coordinated Revit model has continued throughout the Covid-19 lockdown period, making use of electronic meetings with the project and clinical teams to ensure the programme was not delayed.