Almost R1 Billion Reconstruction of Valkenberg Hospital to Start in January 2013

For some years now, normal judicial processes have been seriously delayed because the current Valkenberg Hospital does not have the capacity to assess awaiting trial persons who have committed crimes as serious as murder. The situation has for many years been of great concern for the legal and psychiatric healthcare fraternity and has received much publicity.

The revitalisation of Valkenberg Hospital has now become a priority project for Western Cape Government Health on the grounds of the need to provide a facility capable of providing a forensic psychiatric assessment service to the Department of Justice.

Western Cape Health Minister, Theuns Botha, says, "The R978 million rebuilding project will see the creation of a staff-friendly and healing environment for patients. The facility has been designed to protect staff safety and patient security. All considerations had to be included, optimising the landscaping and maximising the natural beauty of the site. The design acknowledges the historic landscape setting and the historic core. Buildings have been designed around courtyards to improve the patient environment and provide a durable, low maintenance sustainable design."

The site is arranged to form three distinct precincts: the historic core which will contain administrative functions, the forensic village and the acute village. The public face of the scheme is formed by the "werf", which forms the forecourt defined by dual tree-lined avenues with the main entrance opposite the core buildings on its central axis. Each village is arranged around a central green which serves as recreational area.

The project embraces sustainable design by employing low maintenance materials, hard wearing soft and hard landscaping layouts and robust internal fixtures and fittings. Carbon emissions will be reduced by the use of low energy and taking advantage of passive ventilation and building orientation.

The hospital will be providing two parallel services, namely:

• An acute admission and rehabilitation service for those suffering from serious psychiatric disorders that cannot be managed by community-based facilities (including regional and district hospitals), but which also reintegrates such patients into the community. This aligns with Healthcare 2010, whereby chronic services will not be delivered at this level of healthcare.
• A forensic psychiatry service that will be divided between providing an assessment (observation service) for the courts and a system for the care of state patients.

The proposed revitalisation will increase the bed capacity from 340 to 432 beds. The main administration complex is a Grade 2 provincial heritage site and will be retained to house administration functions. The community and the greater Cape Town value the rich historic background and their association with the facility.

Minister Botha says, "The planning of the hospital is an opportunity to build an attractive architectural landmark in Cape Town, which will set a new benchmark in psychiatric care."

As the site is at present a functioning hospital, the construction programme will be developed to take into account the decanting of existing functions to cause as little disruption as possible and with regard to protection of patients and staff from construction activities.

The entire construction and decanting of the hospital is aimed to be completed within 40 months by one contractor. The first construction stage will be completed by September 2014 and final construction is aimed to be complete by mid-2016.