Tolworth Hospital revamp underway
Work started on the £110million redevelopment of Tolworth mental health hospital last month.
Derelict buildings at Tolworth Hospital are being replaced with state-of-the-art facilities under the scheme from South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, with building works expected to last until 2027.
The scheme will deliver a new five-ward hospital building at Tolworth to improve care for patients.
Construction work began in March after derelict buildings on the site, which had not been used for more than a decade, were demolished last year.
Overall, seven acute, older persons and specialist wards – up from three – will be based at Tolworth from late 2027.
Four wards will move from older buildings at Springfield Hospital in Tooting, which is also run by the trust, and one from the Acacia Unit at Tolworth. This follows an earlier £8m upgrade of Tolworth's existing wards.
The trust aims to break stigma around mental health by opening up the site to the community with new entrances, a central plaza, café and improved landscaping.
It has separately been awarded nearly £300,000 to install solar panels across the site.
The hospital dates back to 1889, when the site was bought and developed by The Kingston Rural Sanitary Authority to accommodate 22 patients as an infectious diseases hospital.
It was transferred to the NHS in 1948 and many of the older buildings were replaced in the 1960s. The hospital was transferred to the trust in 2004, which decided to redevelop it in 2015.
Tolworth's revamp marks the final phase of the trust's £270m Better Environments Programme, which is transforming mental health services across South West London.
The programme has already delivered the £150m revamp of Springfield Hospital and the ongoing creation of Springfield Village around it, led by developer STEP and Barratt Homes, which will include 1,288 homes, a new 32-acre park, shops and cafés once completed.
This year, the programme will see the start of the £11m revamp of Barnes Hospital and the opening of the refurbished Richmond Royal Wellbeing Centre in May.
Ian Garlington, director of the trust's Better Communities Programme, said: "We are thrilled to be moving ahead with the redevelopment of Tolworth Hospital and we want to say a huge thank you all our patients, carers, staff and our wider community who have supported our journey.
"Our Better Communities and Better Environments programmes are transforming not only the care we provide to our patients, but also the communities around us.
"Overall, our trust is supporting a £1billion investment in healthcare and urban development, creating an inclusive new landscape for mental healthcare that breaks mental health stigma, empowers patients, supports net zero, and brings our services closer to the people we serve."
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