People’s peer officially opens Rivers Centre mental health wards
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust’s state-of-the-art Rivers Centre mental health development has been officially opened by Lord Victor Olufemi Adebowale, CBE.
Lord Adebowale, one of the first individuals to become a People's Peer, unveiled a plaque at the Rivers Centre Hub on Monday (6 July) to commemorate the significant project.
Guests, including stakeholders, service users and staff who were involved in the planning of the £55 million development, heard from Dr Dan Dalton, Locality Medical Director, and Adam Smith, Locality Director of Nursing and Quality, about person-centred, trauma-informed care, and watched videos about the project, before the unveiling and afternoon tea.
Unveiling the plaque, Lord Adebowale, Chair of the NHS Alliance, said he was honoured to be able to carry out the unveiling. “It’s nice to be somewhere going forward,” he added, before chatting to guests.
The three new wards have enhanced mental health care at the Hellesdon Hospital site, including therapeutic indoor and outdoor space and world-class artwork through the Hospital Rooms project.
The site has a gym and the community hub, which includes the main reception and a café. The new bedrooms were designed with a private toilet/shower room, views outside and space for storage.
In the centre of the wards are outdoor areas with seating and gym equipment. There are also facilities if patients require extra care, together with outdoor space. Sustainability has been a key factor in the development, with electricity supplied from solar panels and heating via air source heat pumps.
Service user Beatrice was at the opening and appeared in both the videos shown. She was involved in shaping the new wards and said it was very important that the hospital environment was conducive to recovery. “To have single rooms with a shower is amazing. It really makes a huge difference to people getting better.
“Being really ill is a horrible experience but the building, I hope, encourages people to think there’s life on the other side.”
Welcoming guests to the celebration, Trust Chair Zoë Billingham said the development was just the start for creating a “wonderful, therapeutic” environment for recovery.
“It was lovely to be here and talk to people who have been involved in creating our new facilities as well as having the chance to show Lord Victor around. We are delighted he was able to do the honours today and officially open the Rivers Centre.”
CEO Caroline Donovan paid tribute to the estates team and thanked everyone who had been involved in the project, including service users and people living near the Hellesdon site. “Today is a celebration of what can be done when staff, servicer users, carers and members of the public work together on a shared goal.”
The Hospital Rooms project included patients, staff and renowned artists working together for 15 months to create original artwork for the site.
Co-founder Tim A Shaw said the project at Hellesdon had been the charity’s most ambitious to date, with sculptures, paintings, murals, photography and text-based artworks in the wards, gym and surrounding areas.
He said: “We’ve loved working with all the artists, the service users, the staff on the ground, and through 70 art workshops we have informed 15 incredible artworks that have made the hospital feel something unique.
“I hope over the years to come the artworks do bring some joy and peace to the people who use and work in the services.”