Midpark Hospital is a modern acute mental health unit located in
Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...
. The hospital is managed by
NHS Dumfries and Galloway
NHS Dumfries and Galloway is an NHS board serving the Dumfries and Galloway region. It is one of the fourteen regions of NHS Scotland. NHS Dumfries and Galloway provides health care and promotes healthy living for the people of Dumfries and Gallo ...
.
History
Design
The hospital was designed to replace aging accommodation at a number of sites: the Cree West ward at the Crichton Royal Hospital; the hospice block at the Crichton; Lahraig at the Nithbank site; and the Wellgreen cottages at Glencaple Road.
It was one of the first projects to be procured through Frameworks Scotland.
The architects for the new hospital were Ingenium Archial Ltd, with WSP and Arups handling engineering aspects.
The landscape architects for the site were award-winning Glasgow firm erz Ltd who designed the campus, the courtyards, the entry areas and the woodland setting. the site is typified by its colourful planting and useful, therapeutic outdoor spaces. The building incorporates best practice design for people with dementia and mental illness and has received a
BREEAM
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), first published by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in 1990, is the world's longest established method of assessing, rating, and certifying the sustainability of ...
rating of "excellent".
The entrance garden ''DoubleWalk'' was designed by Jencks2,
a partnership between
Charles Jencks
Charles Alexander Jencks (21 June 1939 – 13 October 2019) was an American cultural theorist, landscape designer, architectural historian, and co-founder of the Maggie’s Cancer Care Centres. He published over thirty books and became famous i ...
and Lilly Jencks. The garden features a 'landform' typical of Charles Jencks' work. He describes it as "A landform that pulls in the distant landscape of the Criffel mountain, the Nith River, Dumfries and the cosmic setting."
The project received the following awards: 2011 Health Facilities Scotland Awards (design commendation),
2012 NHS Scotland HFS Environment and Design Award (winner)
and the BREEM awards 2015 (shortlisted).
Construction
Construction work on the new hospital started in 2010.
It was built by
Laing O'Rourke
Laing O'Rourke is a multinational construction company headquartered in Dartford, England. It was founded in 1978 by Ray O'Rourke. It is the largest privately owned construction company in the United Kingdom.
History
The company was founded by ...
at a cost of £29 million
and officially opened by the
Duchess of Gloucester
Duke of Gloucester () is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curren ...
in May 2012.
Services
The hospital has six ward areas: Balcary (intensive psychiatric care), Cree (older adult assessment), Dalveen (rehabilitation), Ettrick (adult acute admissions), Glencairn (older adult acute admissions) and Nithsdale (adult acute admissions).
Friends of Midpark Hospital
The "Friends of Midpark Hospital" was set up to help coordinate volunteers and became a registered charity (registered charity number SC042993)
in 2012.
References
External links
Midpark Hospital on NHS Dumfries and Galloway website
{{authority control
Hospital buildings completed in 2012
Psychiatric hospitals in Scotland
NHS Scotland hospitals
Buildings and structures in Dumfries
Hospitals in Dumfries and Galloway