Time capsule buried at new hospital in Morpeth area as trust reflects on the past and looks forward to the future

Staff from CNTW, NTW Solutions, and SRM gather to celebrate the time capsule. Front row left to right, each holding items to be placed in the capsule: Tom Senior, SRM Chief Engineer; Steve Naylor, CEDAR Programme Director; James Duncan, Chief Executive at CNTW; Tracey Sopp, Managing Director at NTW Solutions; Sandra Barker, Associate Nurse Director for Secure Care services at CNTW; and Dennis Davison, Associate Director for Secure Care services at CNTW.

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW), a provider of mental health and disability services, began redeveloping Northgate Hospital in 2021 as the existing buildings were outdated and unable to meet the needs of patients – and the state-of-the-art Sycamore unit is set to open this autumn.

The building will look after up to 72 men with a mental illness, learning disability or personality disorder who have come into contact with the criminal justice system.

The time capsule was the brainchild of Fiona Kettle, assistant capital projects officer, who said: “We hope to show people in the future just how much the care and treatment on this site for people with mental illness and learning disabilities has changed and improved over the years.

Tom Burton, head of the woodwork team at Northgate, places an item in the capsule.

“There are lots of photographs of the site through the years. We’ve included memorabilia from our celebration of 100 years of Learning Disability Nursing in 2019, some articles and documents which show how the COVID-19 pandemic affected our lives and work, and documents about CNTW’s newly-launched Carer Promise.”

The capsule also contains a banner created by patients to celebrate the Queen’s life following her death in 2022 and a hi-vis jacket, which staff become very accustomed to wearing whilst visiting and preparing for opening.

To formally mark the burying of the capsule, staff were present who have worked on the new unit from CNTW, NTW Solutions and building contractors Sir Robert McAlpine.