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| Can Liverpool's new hospital make the whole city healthier – and wealthier? | Can Liverpool's new hospital make the whole city healthier – and wealthier? |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| It has been called the “ugliest building in Liverpool”: a towering brutalist slab with near-permanent scaffolding in a sea of parking, the Royal Liverpool University Hospital has long needed a facelift. | It has been called the “ugliest building in Liverpool”: a towering brutalist slab with near-permanent scaffolding in a sea of parking, the Royal Liverpool University Hospital has long needed a facelift. |
| “If you think of Liverpool 100 years ago,” says David Lewis from the project’s architects NBBJ, “you had the docks, and all these public and civic buildings. To the west, there was the university and beautiful residential squares. But when building the hospital, they took an urban block which had streets, schools and churches – and they flattened it to put in a 1970s hospital slab. It was detrimental to the city.” | “If you think of Liverpool 100 years ago,” says David Lewis from the project’s architects NBBJ, “you had the docks, and all these public and civic buildings. To the west, there was the university and beautiful residential squares. But when building the hospital, they took an urban block which had streets, schools and churches – and they flattened it to put in a 1970s hospital slab. It was detrimental to the city.” |
| Now, however, after more than a decade of delays, work has finally started on an ambitious £335m redevelopment of Merseyside’s largest hospital. And the ambition is not simply to tackle a building that has outstayed its usefulness; it is to make the whole city healthier and wealthier too. | Now, however, after more than a decade of delays, work has finally started on an ambitious £335m redevelopment of Merseyside’s largest hospital. And the ambition is not simply to tackle a building that has outstayed its usefulness; it is to make the whole city healthier and wealthier too. |
| The design is underpinned by the idea that nature and natural light will aid the healing process for patients, creating a hospital that is calmer and more pleasant for the city’s residents as well as its staff and patients. | The design is underpinned by the idea that nature and natural light will aid the healing process for patients, creating a hospital that is calmer and more pleasant for the city’s residents as well as its staff and patients. |
| While the hospital itself will be housed in a high-rise tower at one end of the space, its car park will be sunk underground, freeing up room for a “health campus” – a landscaped public square, green areas for patients, and room to develop facilities for research and life-science companies that will bring new jobs and investment to the city. | While the hospital itself will be housed in a high-rise tower at one end of the space, its car park will be sunk underground, freeing up room for a “health campus” – a landscaped public square, green areas for patients, and room to develop facilities for research and life-science companies that will bring new jobs and investment to the city. |
| “We are trying to transform the whole feel of the area with beautiful landscaping,” says Helen Jackson from the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust. “There will be quieter outside areas – for example, near the hospital’s bereavement counselling services – and also more sociable areas.” | “We are trying to transform the whole feel of the area with beautiful landscaping,” says Helen Jackson from the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust. “There will be quieter outside areas – for example, near the hospital’s bereavement counselling services – and also more sociable areas.” |
| According to Brian Zeallear from NBBJ, the project will help reconnect the hospital with the city and its population. In place of the current “American suburban” model of a huge building and surrounding parking, it will return to a “European” model of a cluster of buildings with public spaces in between them, as well as tree-lined pedestrian paths through the site, to make it feel part of the city again. Most importantly, the new plan focuses on linking the hospital to Liverpool University – both through footpaths and through new research facilities being built on the site. | According to Brian Zeallear from NBBJ, the project will help reconnect the hospital with the city and its population. In place of the current “American suburban” model of a huge building and surrounding parking, it will return to a “European” model of a cluster of buildings with public spaces in between them, as well as tree-lined pedestrian paths through the site, to make it feel part of the city again. Most importantly, the new plan focuses on linking the hospital to Liverpool University – both through footpaths and through new research facilities being built on the site. |
| If it looks like a hospital, smells like a hospital and feels like a hospital, we will have failed | If it looks like a hospital, smells like a hospital and feels like a hospital, we will have failed |
| “Through creating smaller buildings around the periphery and having public roads and pedestrian corridors through the site, we can stitch back the existing city,” Zeallear says. “The centre will feel like a public square. The hospital is in a dense urban area but once the outdoor landscaping is done, when you step outside it should make you feel you are in nature through the manicured grass, trees and water features.” | “Through creating smaller buildings around the periphery and having public roads and pedestrian corridors through the site, we can stitch back the existing city,” Zeallear says. “The centre will feel like a public square. The hospital is in a dense urban area but once the outdoor landscaping is done, when you step outside it should make you feel you are in nature through the manicured grass, trees and water features.” |
| Zeallear explains that the design of the hospital has been dictated by its function, resulting in an unusual shape. The focus on having single, en suite rooms rather than wards, and a desire to maximise daylight and views for patients and staff, led to its high-rise design. The result is rooms with external windows, and windows into the corridors, with blinds built in behind the glass to help with infection control and ensure privacy. | Zeallear explains that the design of the hospital has been dictated by its function, resulting in an unusual shape. The focus on having single, en suite rooms rather than wards, and a desire to maximise daylight and views for patients and staff, led to its high-rise design. The result is rooms with external windows, and windows into the corridors, with blinds built in behind the glass to help with infection control and ensure privacy. |
| “We have put kinks in the corridors so there is always a view. This way you can feel part of the outside world – when it is dusk or raining, you will know,” says Zeallear. “We are trying everything we can do to make the public and clinical spaces as calming as possible. If it looks like a hospital, smells like a hospital and feels like a hospital, we will have failed.” | “We have put kinks in the corridors so there is always a view. This way you can feel part of the outside world – when it is dusk or raining, you will know,” says Zeallear. “We are trying everything we can do to make the public and clinical spaces as calming as possible. If it looks like a hospital, smells like a hospital and feels like a hospital, we will have failed.” |
| The height of the building should make it a landmark for anyone entering the city, and to ensure it stands out further, an abstract 217-sq-metre stained glass window for the West Derby street and Prescott street entrances has been commissioned by artist by Alexander Beleschenko. The building’s light-coloured stone cladding has been chosen to reflect the Portland stone of many of Liverpool’s most famous civic buildings. | The height of the building should make it a landmark for anyone entering the city, and to ensure it stands out further, an abstract 217-sq-metre stained glass window for the West Derby street and Prescott street entrances has been commissioned by artist by Alexander Beleschenko. The building’s light-coloured stone cladding has been chosen to reflect the Portland stone of many of Liverpool’s most famous civic buildings. |
| Perhaps surprisingly, given the pressure on modern hospitals, the new design actually includes fewer beds than the old one, although some rooms – for example, those set aside for administrative tasks – can be turned into spaces for extra beds should the need arise. This flexibility, says Jackson, means the building’s life span is lengthened, because it can adjust to changing needs or technologies. | Perhaps surprisingly, given the pressure on modern hospitals, the new design actually includes fewer beds than the old one, although some rooms – for example, those set aside for administrative tasks – can be turned into spaces for extra beds should the need arise. This flexibility, says Jackson, means the building’s life span is lengthened, because it can adjust to changing needs or technologies. |
| If we can help the work status of everyone around here then that will help to make the population healthier | If we can help the work status of everyone around here then that will help to make the population healthier |
| Jackson also says the trust is working hard to reduce the length of time patients – especially older people – will stay in the hospital. In part by helping people to stay at home for longer and return home more quickly. “Gerontologists will tell you that a 60-year-old who spends 14 nights in hospital will age 10 years,” Jackson says. Speeding up the time it takes to generate results such as ultrasounds will also reduce the time all patients have to spend in the hospital. | Jackson also says the trust is working hard to reduce the length of time patients – especially older people – will stay in the hospital. In part by helping people to stay at home for longer and return home more quickly. “Gerontologists will tell you that a 60-year-old who spends 14 nights in hospital will age 10 years,” Jackson says. Speeding up the time it takes to generate results such as ultrasounds will also reduce the time all patients have to spend in the hospital. |
| But aside from aesthetics and planning, there is a striking focus on the local economy. While this may seem an unusual interest for the NHS, Jackson insists that the links between income and health means it makes perfect sense. “If we can help the work status of everyone around here then that will help to make the population healthier,” she explains, “and mean they are less likely to need our services.” | But aside from aesthetics and planning, there is a striking focus on the local economy. While this may seem an unusual interest for the NHS, Jackson insists that the links between income and health means it makes perfect sense. “If we can help the work status of everyone around here then that will help to make the population healthier,” she explains, “and mean they are less likely to need our services.” |
| It’s not hard to see how much this is needed. Despite the city’s fortunes improving in recent years, Liverpool is still one of the most deprived areas of the country – fourth in a recent ranking of local authorities. And in Kensington, a ward bordering the hospital, 98.2% of residents are in the most deprived 5% of people in the country. While it may share a name with the wealthy royal borough in London its inhabitants have a life expectancy 13 years shorter. Some houses in the borough are being sold off for £1 after a failed regeneration bid, while the average household income is £22,787 – £14,000 lower than the national average (pdf) – and four in 10 children live in low income households – more than double the national average. | It’s not hard to see how much this is needed. Despite the city’s fortunes improving in recent years, Liverpool is still one of the most deprived areas of the country – fourth in a recent ranking of local authorities. And in Kensington, a ward bordering the hospital, 98.2% of residents are in the most deprived 5% of people in the country. While it may share a name with the wealthy royal borough in London its inhabitants have a life expectancy 13 years shorter. Some houses in the borough are being sold off for £1 after a failed regeneration bid, while the average household income is £22,787 – £14,000 lower than the national average (pdf) – and four in 10 children live in low income households – more than double the national average. |
| In a bid to improve the situation the new hospital’s developers, Carillion, and the trust have agreed that out of the 750 jobs created during the construction of the new site, 60% must come from the local area – and 15% from priority wards such as Kensington. To this end there is a “job shop” on the development site, to make it easier for local people to find out what opportunities are on offer. While a hundred jobs may not solve the city’s problems, Carillion points out it has also agreed to create 100 apprenticeships in areas such as joinery and bricklaying, and has set up a £100,000 fund to help local community groups. | In a bid to improve the situation the new hospital’s developers, Carillion, and the trust have agreed that out of the 750 jobs created during the construction of the new site, 60% must come from the local area – and 15% from priority wards such as Kensington. To this end there is a “job shop” on the development site, to make it easier for local people to find out what opportunities are on offer. While a hundred jobs may not solve the city’s problems, Carillion points out it has also agreed to create 100 apprenticeships in areas such as joinery and bricklaying, and has set up a £100,000 fund to help local community groups. |
| Related: Toxteth, 1981: the summer Liverpool burned – by the rioter and economist on opposite sides | |
| The new health campus, the trust hopes, will offer more permanent jobs in biosciences by attracting private life-science companies to the area. Using the expertise of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), for instance, there will be space for research into antibiotic resistance in the new Liverpool Life Sciences Accelerator building – which will have two floors of lab space to be used by the LSTM for research, and space for other labs and offices. | The new health campus, the trust hopes, will offer more permanent jobs in biosciences by attracting private life-science companies to the area. Using the expertise of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), for instance, there will be space for research into antibiotic resistance in the new Liverpool Life Sciences Accelerator building – which will have two floors of lab space to be used by the LSTM for research, and space for other labs and offices. |
| In total, the trust hopes the plans will create 5,000 new specialist jobs. To encourage more students into this area the trust is also working with a local school, Liverpool Life Sciences UTC, the first in the UK to focus on health and life sciences for students aged between 14 and 19 years old, helping to set up their curriculum. | In total, the trust hopes the plans will create 5,000 new specialist jobs. To encourage more students into this area the trust is also working with a local school, Liverpool Life Sciences UTC, the first in the UK to focus on health and life sciences for students aged between 14 and 19 years old, helping to set up their curriculum. |
| It’s fair to say the city is eagerly awaiting the new hospital. Indeed, the Liverpool Royal Court theatre is planning to stage a comedy set on the opening day of the new hospital: as the first wrecking ball is set to swing into the old building, the last patient is found, sitting on a commode. | It’s fair to say the city is eagerly awaiting the new hospital. Indeed, the Liverpool Royal Court theatre is planning to stage a comedy set on the opening day of the new hospital: as the first wrecking ball is set to swing into the old building, the last patient is found, sitting on a commode. |
| It might not be exactly be the publicity the trust and Carillion were hoping for, but it’s certainly one way to celebrate the end of the ugliest building in the city. | It might not be exactly be the publicity the trust and Carillion were hoping for, but it’s certainly one way to celebrate the end of the ugliest building in the city. |
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