Three submit bids for £23m hospital

Aug 17 2006 By Neil Mckay, The Journal

Plans for a mental health hospital in Durham have moved a step closer after the three shortlisted companies submitted their bids to build the £23m facility.

The potential partners attended a special "bidder's day" and presented their proposals to more than 50 people, including doctors, nurses and patient representatives.

Lanchester Road Hospital will be built on the Earls House Hospital site in Durham, where work is due to get underway in mid 2007. It will replace the outdated County Hospital in Durham and Allensford Ward at Derwent Clinic, Shotley Bridge.

Each of the bidders was asked to give an overview of their scheme by illustrating how patients, staff and visitors would spend a typical day at the hospital.

Many of those in the audience had been closely involved in developing the initial design for the hospital and were keen to hear how the three consortia had interpreted these plans and how well they understood the specific requirements of a mental health hospital.

The hospital will provide a safe, homely and therapeutic environment for people experiencing mental health problems. It will have 65 inpatient beds as well as outpatient facilities, ward based activity rooms and training facilities for staff.

Chris Parsons, project director for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust, said: "This event gave those people the opportunity to meet our prospective partners and find out more about their proposals. But this is only the start of the process and over the next three months we will be looking at the fine detail of each of the proposals before choosing our preferred bidder."

The three consortia shortlisted for the scheme are Futurecare, the Grosvenor House Group and Investors in Healthcare.