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Integrated Health Projects, a joint venture between Vinci and Sir Robert McAlpine, has reached financial close on the £32m St Catherine's Health Centre on the Wirral.
The project, which will be delivered under the existing Procure 21 framework, is being funded by client NHS Wirral (55% of the cost) and funding partner Prime (45%).
The 11,100m2 four storey centre will replace a range of former workhouse and sanatorium buildings dating back to the 1800s, which are no longer fit for purpose. The new development on the eight acre Church Road site is being designed by architects One.
The health centre will bring a wide range of new services to the site, as well as providing state-of-the-art facilities for the existing NHS clinics and teams including physiotherapy, mental health care, women's health, intermediate health, harm reduction, Wirral Heart Support, podiatry and audiology. Two community based GP practices will also relocate to the building.
The new health centre building fans out around the Grade II listed St Catherine's Church with five new colour coded wings mirroring the block form of a DNA profile, running from a central atrium, to create an intuitive building that, despite its size, is easy to navigate from any point.
The atrium in form has a full four-storey high glazed façade, and in function makes the transparent building open and welcoming so that patients and visitors are drawn in from the outside, whilst occupants benefit from strong levels of natural light.
Chris Hamer, regional director at VINCI Construction UK said: "It's excellent to have reached financial close on this major new health centre which will turn the eight acre site into a new hub of health and wider care services for Wirral. The completion of this contract demonstrates that vehicles like Procure 21 continue to deliver valuable health sector developments, even in a more challenging market."
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