Patients, carers, NHS staff, teachers and local leaders across health and education came together today in Richmond, South West London, to mark the start of a major programme of regeneration at Barnes Hospital.
A special groundbreaking ceremony was held to celebrate start of works to develop a state-of-art the NHS mental health facility and a new Special Educational Needs (SEN) school. Tributes were led by a range of speakers including patients, staff and the Friends of Barnes Hospital patron, Sir Trevor McDonald.
As part of this, South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust and LocatED, an arms-length body of the Department for Education, are investing more than £30m to uplift health and educational provision in the borough.
NHS Trust Chief Executive, Vanessa Ford, said: “Today marks the next step in our journey to deliver modern, community-facing mental healthcare for the people of Richmond. We want to create inclusive new spaces to deliver better environments and better care for our patients, now and in the future.
“Our Better Communities programme is driving important changes across our estate, and we are excited to see construction begin here at Barnes as we strive to create environments that improve patient experience, reduce mental health stigma, and bring care closer to home.”
The new NHS facility will provide accommodation for a range of community mental health services, which relocated from Barnes to the Trust’s Livingston House facility in Teddington in 2023. When Barnes reopens in 2027, the Trust’s expanded community services will continue to operate from both sites, supporting accessibility across the borough.
The school, the London River Academy, will provide 90 places for children with social and emotional mental health (SEMH) needs and will be operated by the Beckmead Trust.
