Proposals for a new inpatient-building at Camberwell’s psychiatric hospital would provide a further 35 beds and bring in more than 25 members of staff.
Maudsley Hospital in Camberwell has proposed to remove Douglas Bennett House, a four-storey block in order to make room for a larger five-storey building. This new build would include eight new wards and would incorporate two specialist wards and six further wards for adult mental health patients.
According to the NHS Foundation Trust the official decision about which inpatient beds will move into the new accommodation will be taken following a service change public consultation in 2020.
However, there has been recent backlash from residents sparking thoughts that the planned structure could be too high. Further complaints have come from The Camberwell Society and staff from the Fetal Medicine Clinic.
The Camberwell Society have objected to the size of the proposed building. Camberwell Society told London News Online that it is “unacceptable in terms of scale and design, the five-storey building and plant on the roof is out of scale with the Victorian terrace”. Fetal Medicine Clinic has claimed that the new building would provide a lack of daylight and privacy to their clinic as a result of its construction.
The height of the new build is proposed to be increased by more than three metres and this would be raised further by 2.5 metres if a plant was added on top of the block.
Janet Kelly, 70, has been a resident in Camberwell for 36 years and walks past Douglas Bennett House daily. Kelly disagrees with the plans and said: “I believe that the new build will ruin the look of this street. I’ve heard that it will be modern and I don’t think it’ll match the old-fashioned houses. It will look rather out of place”.
Max Higgins, 25, from Camberwell supports the proposed plans and says: “At current, it’s not even fit for use. What’s the point in it just sitting there when it can be transformed into something with purpose. It’ll be good to bring something new to this area”.
Douglas Bennett House still stands and is situated by Denmark Hill railway station. Built in the 1970s, it was used to provide 48 beds for inpatients, 100-day places, as well as teaching and research spaces. However, in last year’s NHS Foundation Trust annual report it was stated that ‘it no longer meets the standards required to provide a high-quality therapeutic environment’.
The planners report explains the impact on the local employment rate as it has been “estimated that the addition of 35 beds will result in one medical professional being employed for every two patients and two support staff would be employed per additional ward. This would equate to 17.5 nurses and eight support staff for the proposed development (25.5 in total)”.
