Tilbury Douglas completes the construction of the £20m Red Kite View in Leeds
Tilbury Douglas has successfully completed the design and construction of the £20m, Red Kite View in Armley, Leeds for Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Red Kite View is an exemplar new mental health inpatient unit for people aged between 13 – 18 and will open its doors for the first time today, offering expert therapy and treatment to some of the most vulnerable young people in the Yorkshire region.
It has been designed in partnership with clinicians and young people, who’ve contributed their ideas, hopes and aspirations for care at the new unit. They also helped to decide on the name ‘Red Kite View’ – as nature is strongly associated with mental wellbeing and rehabilitation.
The 22-bed unit replaces the 8-bed unit at Little Woodhouse Hall in Leeds, increasing the regional bed capacity by 14. This is part of a drive to eliminate out-of-area placements for young people who need an inpatient admission but who can’t access a bed locally.
Its two main wards will be staffed by a 100-strong expert team made up of nurses, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, teachers and a wide range of allied health professionals and non-clinical support staff. This team is three times the size of the previous one at Little Woodhouse Hall, able to offer a wider range of therapies and support. They will work closely with the young person’s community mental health team during their stay, ensuring they can return to their families and local communities as soon as possible.
Dawn Hanwell, Deputy Chief Executive at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It has been my absolute privilege to lead this project and finally see it come to fruition after five years of hard work from a huge range of people.
“This is our first project with Tilbury Douglas, but it has been a genuine partnership, and an enjoyable and positive experience for all stakeholders, overcoming a number of challenges to deliver a world class facility on a complex site.”
John Gittins, Divisional Director – North at Tilbury Douglas, commented: “We are extremely proud to be associated with Red Kite View. In partnership we have successfully delivered a highly sustainable building incorporating air source heat pumps and photovoltaics to reduce carbon. We also provided flexibility and innovations along the journey to counter the challenges of Covid-19 and Brexit. Congratulations to all the team and partners, this is a really brilliant facility for the region.”