Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust are consulting on plans to change mental health services and build a new hospital and community health hubs, a project to be partly funded by the sale of a property at Tottenham Mews in Fitzrovia.
The consultation is seeking the public’s views on moving patient beds from St Pancras Hospital to a new site to be built next to the Whittington Hospital on Highgate Hill, and create two community hubs at Greenland Road in Camden Town, and at Lowther Road in Holloway. Some services will also stay at St Pancras under the plans.
The Trust currently has around 30 sites across Camden and Islington boroughs which are in need of upgrading to meet modern standards. St Pancras hospital also has a problem with patient privacy as a result of overlooking from high-rise residential buildings with more to come from nearby redevelopment. No patient beds will be lost under the plans, says the Trust.
The consultation document recognises concerns about moving patient facilities from the centrally located St Pancras Hospital to the more “suburban area” of the Whittington Hospital. Some out patients using the existing smaller sites will also face increased distances to travel.
The redevelopment will cost £135.4 million and will be funded by leasing some of the St Pancras site, the sale of vacant property, and from the Trust’s capital reserves.
The Tottenham Mews Resource Centre in Fitzrovia was sold by the Trust to property developer Derwent London in April this year. Derwent own a large number of buildings in Fitzrovia including the adjacent Middlesex House in Cleveland Street.
A final decision on the health service plans will be made in November 2018 with the new community hubs due to be completed in December 2022 and inpatients to be moved to the Whittington site in December 2023.
According to Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, Islington has the highest prevalence of psychotic disorders in England, nearly double the national average; Camden has the third highest diagnosed prevalence of serious mental illness in the country and the eighth highest diagnosed prevalence of depression in London.
Transforming Mental Health Services in Camden and Islington: consultation runs until 12 October 2018. Public meetings: Thursday 19 July, 6pm to 8pm, and Wednesday 26 September, 6pm to 8pm, St Pancras Hospital, 4 St Pancras Way, Kings Cross, London, NW1 0PE. For full information, see islingtonccg.nhs.uk/stpancras.
Nominations for Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust Council of Governors are open until Friday 20 July. For more information see the web page for how to nominate yourself.