Trinity building opens at Springfield Hospital in Wandsworth

South West London and St George’s (SWLSTG) Mental Health NHS Trust has announced the completion of a multimillion pound mental health facility at Springfield Hospital in Wandsworth.

SWLSTG Mental Health NHS Trust entered into a contract with Master developer STEP in 2019 to deliver the Springfield Village master plan including two new state-of-the-art mental health buildings. STEP is a partnership between Sir Robert McAlpine Capital Ventures and Kajima Partnerships who have a demonstrable record of delivering in partnership with the public sector. STEP’s main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd is responsible for the construction of the new mental health buildings as well as the wider estate infrastructure and Springfield Park.

Designed in partnership with NHS staff, patients and carers, the new Trinity building is part of a £150m investment that aims to breathe new life into local mental health services.

Construction began in January 2020 and continued throughout the pandemic, with contractors navigating the challenges successfully to complete construction on schedule. 

We are thrilled to be moving into this fantastic new building on time and in budget. Trinity represents the best of what we can achieve in the NHS when we come together with our community to create first-class environments for patients and service users.

Vanessa Ford Trust Chief Executive

Vanessa Ford continued: “From spacious, bright new wards to award-winning garden courtyards and vibrant artworks throughout, this building has been designed to break stigma and provide healing spaces where patients receive high quality care, treatment and recovery and where our teams are proud to work.

“Our Trust mission is Making Life Better Together, and this new facility is key to delivering this as we work with our community to transform mental health services in South West London. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported us to bring our vision for Trinity to life.”

Harriet Gladwell-Phillips, Project Manager, Sir Robert McAlpine Capital Ventures (SRMCV), said: “The opening of the Trinity Building marks a major milestone in the delivery of the Springfield University Hospital development. STEP, the partnership between SRMCV and Kajima Partnerships, is proud to be working alongside SWLSTG Mental Health NHS Trust and Sir Robert McAlpine on the construction of this state of the art facility that is set to revolutionise mental health care for patients and bring many benefits to the local community.”   

Over December, 30 teams including nearly 500 patients and staff are now moving into the Trinity building. The facility will be home to four wards and a variety of outpatient mental health services providing support to people across the boroughs of Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton, and Wandsworth. 

Commenting on the new environments, patient on Jupiter Ward David said: “My bedroom is now light and airy. It’s clear that the staff and designers have really thought hard about how to make things more suitable for us. Obviously a lot of thought has gone into the design of our bedrooms and the common areas of the buildings and our wards.”

Jupiter Ward Manager, Caroline Lekuru, said: “I am really excited about the new Jupiter ward. Not only does it look amazing, but it will also make a huge difference to the experience of both patients and staff. It has large ensuite bedrooms, a sensory room, a private garden, ample daylight and a feeling of openness throughout. There’s also more space for staff to work in and new technology that will improve the way we work.”

As part of the innovative design, the facilities feature 20 world-class artworks created in partnership with arts and mental health charity Hospital Rooms – the first time an arts project of this scale has been undertaken in the NHS.

Over 2022, leading artists hosted more than 120 workshops with the Trust’s service users, patients, carers and staff to help shape specially commissioned artworks, which are designed to transform how hospital wards are experienced by patients and service users.

Whilst ending the year on a high, Trinity’s completion marks the start of an exciting journey for the Trust. A new ‘Springfield Village’ continues to open next year as South West London and St George’s headquarters is transformed into a new community through the development of hundreds of homes, a new public square, shops and a new 32-acre park.

Early next year the Trust will also open another mental health facility at Springfield Hospital, the new Shaftesbury building, with further new builds planned at sites in Richmond and Kingston for delivery in the coming years.

Find out more about developments at Springfield Hospital and read more on the Trust’s wider programme of investment.