Tilbury Douglas completes the refurbishment & extension of Blossomwood mental health unit in Nottinghamshire
Tilbury Douglas, a leading UK building, infrastructure, engineering and fit-out business, has successfully completed the refurbishment and extension of Blossomwood (formerly Millbrook mental health unit) for Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
The transformation represents a clinically led, innovation driven refurbishment that has redefined older people’s mental health environments within the King’s Mill Hospital estate in Sutton-in-Ashfield.
Delivered within a fully operational facility caring for vulnerable patients, the project replaced outdated dormitory accommodation with modern single en-suite bedrooms, low stimulus dementia environments and flexible care spaces aligned to current best practice.
Alongside extensive refurbishment, the works also included new build extensions, establishing the Trust’s wider ambition of creating a Centre of Excellence for Mental Health Services for Older People.
Every design decision prioritised safety and cognitive wellbeing with bedrooms that enhance dignity and infection control. The defining innovation of the project was the development of a dementia friendly door that was designed in response to a gap in the market, where no compliant off-the-shelf product could safely and appropriately meet the needs of this vulnerable patient group. Tilbury Douglas worked collaboratively with the Trust, a specialist joinery contractor and door supplier to design, prototype and rigorously test a new solution, which was approved and installed on site, with it’s successful application enabling wider adoption across the UK mental health estate.
Chris Loach, Regional Director – East Midlands at Tilbury Douglas, commented: “We are really proud to have collaborated with Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust on this scheme. It demanded not only technical excellence, but genuine empathy, collaboration and understanding of the constraints of working within a live mental health environment. The team have created a safer, more therapeutic environment, without ever losing sight of the people at the heart of it.”
Glenn McFaden, Capital Services Manager at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted with this project. The end result is a facility that provides a calm, therapeutic environment that will help us provide key services within Older Peoples Care today and in the future.”
