Developing the vision

It is crucial that the Trust’s buildings are both welcoming and inspiring.

The area of south London that's been the Maudsley's home since the hospital opened its doors in the 1920s has long-standing associations with the promotion of wellbeing. Indeed, historians tell us, the origin of the word Camberwell means 'place of healing waters'.

If it seems entirely appropriate that the world-renowned Maudsley is sited where it is, enabling its staff to serve one of the country's most culturally diverse populations, then it is crucial that the Trust's buildings are both welcoming and inspiring.

That is the unequivocal view of Kumar Jacob, chair of SLaM's charitable funds committee, who has opened the charity's purse strings to fund a £4.6 million purpose-built learning centre. The building, scheduled to open in April 2013 is not just a one-off; rather the building will be the first in a series that will see the Maudsley's rather haphazard-looking campus being transformed over the coming years.

Kumar has brought academic credentials,  proven business expertise and financial acumen - gained primarily in the ever-changing world of computer games - to the charity, at which he has spent two and a half days a month since 1999. His consultancy business and involvement in other charities keep him busy at other times, limiting his scope to pursue, perhaps unsurprising, long-term hobby: playing computer games.

"I have all the consoles and play a little these days. My son, who like my daughter is a medical student, is more of a gamer than me now. My wife is a psychiatrist in north London and her work, which focuses mainly on those with eating disorders, helped to spark my interest in the mental health field" he explains.

Despite the recent economic downturn, under Kumar's watch the charity has amassed surplus funds thanks to a string of profitable property investments. As chair of the charity he attended numerous meetings at the old Southwark Training Centre (STC) which was built on the Maudsley site in the 1970s. The more time he spent there, the more Kumar became convinced that the building was in desperate need of an upgrade.

He explains: "The STC was simply not fit for purpose any more, and we wanted to make a step change in what was offered to staff in all the specialist areas as far as their learning was concerned".