The leaders of Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (HEFT) and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) are happy to announce they have appointed architects to design an Urgent Care Centre at Solihull Hospital as the scheme continues to move forward.
Warwickshire-based The Design Buro has been awarded the contract to design the ‘one-stop shop’ for urgent care services in Solihull and will bring a great deal of experience and expertise of designing major health care facilities.
The appointment is the latest stage in the process of providing an integrated, ‘one front door’ urgent care service in Solihull which is set to open its doors in late 2016.
Professor Matthew Cooke, Deputy Medical Director (Strategy and Transformation) at HEFT, which runs Solihull Hospital, said: “It is great to have The Design Buro on board to design the Urgent Care Centre at Solihull Hospital and we look forward to working with them and Solihull CCG to create a truly state-of-the-art and integrated facility which will transform the way urgent care services work in Solihull.
“Both HEFT and Solihull CCG were keen to appoint architects with a proven track record of designing modern and high quality health facilities and we believe we have done that with Design Buro.”
Among the projects that The Design Buro has worked on is the Kidney Unit at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, St Oswalds Community Hospital and Health Centre in Ashbourne, Derbyshire and Malvern Community Hospital in Worcestershire which has received multiple design awards.
Dr Patrick Brooke, Accountable Officer for Solihull CCG, said the design stage was the next step in the process of developing the Urgent Care Centre.
He said: “Having the Minor Injuries Unit, Walk-in Centre and other services all under one roof through one front door to form the Urgent Care Centre at Solihull Hospital fits with our proposals and the public consultation. The design stage is an important component to ensuring the centre runs how we want it to with a safe and efficient patient flow and easily accessible facilities for staff and patients.
“This is the next step in bringing the Urgent Care Centre to life and making sure we have a facility to be proud of at the end of this process.”
The Design Buro was founded in 1991 and is led by directors Terry Plant, Tim Adams and John Latto. Managing Director Terry spoke about the independent firm’s passion for healthcare design.
He said: “We believe that healthcare design is about delivering a healthcare service, not just a healthcare building. Central to this success is the development and agreement of the clinical brief, ensuring that the design can facilitate the delivery of the highest level of service, out of the best possible environment.
“Our designs focus on the needs of the patients, their families and the staff that work in the facilities to provide a supportive, inspiring and flexible environment. We have a wealth of healthcare experience and can identify with the unique issues associated with designing healthcare facilities. We are delighted to be working with HEFT and Solihull CCG on this exciting project to provide an Urgent Care Centre in Solihull.”
