Architect lands £3m healthcare projects
A Bridgnorth architect practice says it is helping healthcare become accessible to more people after it was appointed to deliver over £3m of projects.
Johnson Design Partnership (JDP) has won the contract to design and oversee a £650,000 expansion of Newbridge Surgery in Wolverhampton, the refurbishment of a dental practice in Shrewsbury and a £200,000 job for a medical practice in the South East.
It has also just started work on a £2m project to develop a new entrance and food hall to improve the environment for patients and visitors.
Vic Johnson, who founded JDP in 2001, said: “We are very strong in healthcare and, even by our standards, this has been a very good year, with over £3m of appointments and a number of contracts at the final tender stage.
“GP surgeries, community medical practices and the big super hospitals have all had to look at the way they deliver services to patients and design can be a great way of improving the experience and ensuring we can host multiple services in one place.”
He continued: “We are also increasingly working with clients to look at how they can generate revenue out of their spaces by opening up parts of the entrances/facilities to a retail offer/food hall.
“At the heart of everything we do is make sure that our design complies with Healthcare Building Notes (HBN), the guidelines that govern all construction work for the sector.”
The £650,000 doctor’s extension in Wolverhampton was only completed last month and involved JDP working closely with Newbridge GP practice to draw up the feasibility plans so it could secure a grant from NHS England to make it a “single access point for patients”.
Once secured, work on the project started in October last year and saw a complete reconfiguration of the practice to provide more consulting rooms on the lower and ground floor, a new lift to improve accessibility and additional lighting and heating to create a more welcoming space.
The entrance was also moved to the back of the building to provide additional facilities that will now house physios, holistic care specialists and clinical pharmacists.
Matt Spinks, director at JDP and lead on the project, said: “All of this was completed whilst the surgery was operational as the doctors still had to care for their patients.
“We are all really pleased with the outcome and the improvements the extension will deliver to staff and, importantly, the people who come here to be treated. It’s a perfect example of what can be achieved if all parties work together and believe in the power of design.”
