Financial Close has been reached to enable reconfiguration works at Mount Gould Local Care Centre (LCC), Plymouth to commence which once complete, will accommodate the Plym Neuro Rehabilitation Service.
The reconfiguration works, project managed by gbpartnerships manage - on behalf of ReSound Health - will be Community Health Partnerships (CHP) biggest Capital funded variation to date and once complete, the relocation of the Plym Neuro Service will complement the other existing services currently delivered from the site allowing for a ‘one stop shop’.
At present the Plym Neuro Rehabilitation Service is delivered from the neighbouring NHS Property Services owned facility, located on the Mount Gould Hospital estate, a few minutes away from the Mount Gould LCC. Its current home at the Plym Neuro Rehab Unit is a 15-bed inpatient facility for adults with acquired brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and other neurological conditions, and has been operating from the current site for eighteen years.
Mount Gould LCC (pictured below) opened in 2006 and currently delivers a range of healthcare services, providing both inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient services. This £6.9m project will reconfigure existing space to allow for the relocation of the Plym Neuro Service into a new, modern, and fit for purpose health care facility. The new facility will also be able to deliver additional appointments per year benefiting many local and regional patients.
Through collaborative working with both NHS and private partners, including CHP, ReSound Health, gbpartnerships, NHS Property Services (NHS PS), LiveWell, University Hospitals Plymouth Trust NHS Trust and NHS England, the project will be undertaken through several reconfiguration stages. This will include:
Reconfiguration and refurbishment of the current NHS PS owned Beauchamp Centre to internally relocate some services and to accommodate services displaced from Mount Gould LCC. The refurbishment contracts totalling £2.95m were completed in the spring of 2023 and were capital funded by NHS PS.
Relocation of podiatry and orthotics services from Mount Gould LCC to the Beauchamp Centre to free up the relevant space for the Plym Neuro service and allow works to the LCC to commence.
The £6.9m major reconfiguration of Mount Gould LCC to accommodate the relocated Plym Neuro service, due for completion in the spring of 2025.
Partnership working across the many parties is integral in delivering the variation, demonstrating the positive outcomes of collaboration to benefit many patients in years to come.
Simon Waters, Regional Director for the South from CHP said:
“I am thrilled to see the variation commence at Mount Gould LCC. CHP are committed to ensuring that our NHS estate continues to make a valuable contribution to the delivery of health services in local communities and our buildings are positioned as core assets to support this delivery, once complete the new Plym Neuro Service will be a prime exemplar of this. The increased capacity of appointments per year will benefit many patients and support the NHS in a time where it is much needed. Our partnership working and supporting NHS Devon ICB in their strategic aim, has allowed for this fantastic project to come into fruition, and I look forward to seeing the project progress in the months ahead”.
Gary Naylor, gbpartnerships manage, Managing Director, working on behalf of ReSound Health commented:
“We are delighted to be working with CHP to deliver this important project that will bring significant benefits for our NHS partners and their patients and staff. The project has been informed by a utilisation and capacity study carried out by colleagues in the gbpartnerships consult team. Their analysis identified existing space that could be better utilised within the Mount Gould LCC further to improve community care and bring together services under one roof. Once complete, the works will maximise the utilisation of a key NHS LIFT building and ensure that Mount Gould LCC remains a strategic asset over the long term.”
James Page, Relationship Partner for NHS Property Services said:
"This was a great project to be involved with as it had a combined focus upon improving patient outcomes by making best use of the Mount Gould estate footprint. Across both NHSPS and CHP and the overall health system there was a willingness to work both collaboratively and creatively to solve problems and keep a focus on what was important which in the case of Mount Gould was addressing existing limitations in the estate which was having a negative impact on healthcare delivery.”
Nicki Collas, Future Hospital Programme Associate Director, from University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust said:
“The completion of this work will enable our Neuro Rehabilitation Service to relocate into a bespoke, modern environment within the Local Care Centre. This will provide long-term high quality accommodation, which will hugely improve the patient experience.”
The project is set to complete in early 2025, and scheduled to open to patients in April 2025.