healthcare

Robin Hood Lane Medical Centre, Sutton

Robin Hood Lane Health Centre stands as a useful exemplar of an alternative commission within the public sector. The project is a replacement building for two thriving GP practices in Sutton.  

Robin Hood Lane Health Centre had a design generation period of over six years. Over that period the basic design had to adjust to a series of alternative user mixes, a revolution in the way health services are to be delivered, changes in legislation and technology and the impact on health delivery due to MRSA and C Dificile.  As the project developed other services were integrated such as shared minor operations suites, podiatry, audiology and offices for the Primary Care Trust, midwife, school nurse and health visitor services. Although we had to accommodate four significant client groups and many other less influential bodies, as well as marshalling numerous suppliers through the procurement regime, we have delivered a building which has been praised by the developer and operators.

The finished building accommodates an integrated range of services, though the profile is vastly different to that originally envisaged. There are two GP practices now working together in a joined up way, community services (health visitors, district nurses and school visitors), PCT offices and suites related to minor operations, audiology, speech therapy, podiatry and retinal screening.

The building was always intended to be "future proofed" through mechanisms for adaptability and flexibility, but we never imagined that aspect would be so dramatically tested through the design process. That we were able to accommodate the demands of an ever changing and complex client interface and to manage those clients while negotiating the aesthetic qualities of the building with the local authority is testimony to the sound early design work and focus on delivery throughout.

Client: Cathedral Healthcare Limited

Contract Period: Commenced in February 2005 - 3 years

Value: £3.5 million

Services: Architect