Sharing the vision

We have held extensive consultations, and a lot of people have bought into the idea and the design of the building

Speaking at the end of July, Kumar estimated that the project had already passed the mid-way point between inception and completion: "We have held extensive consultations, and a lot of people have bought into the idea and the design of the building. We are now beginning to discuss what we can do with the building and because of the building. In a sense, the building will ultimately be judged on how much it contributes to the learning agenda at SLaM and the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), and whether it helps us to achieve even more in the future.

"I want to do my bit to keep SLaM and the IoP at the top of mental health learning in the world. That's where we belong, and the learning centre will play a small part in keeping us as a world leader in the field."

Kumar pays tribute to the commitment shown by members of the SLaM workforce and the charity's trustees as the project began to get off the ground, picking out Dr Jane Sayer, a Trust programme director (nursing excellence and Magnet recognition), for special mention.

"Jane came on some of the visits we made to look at existing buildings that we thought might provide relevant comparisons in London, elsewhere in the UK and overseas,' he explains. 'She also spent time with the design team, helping them to understand about mental health and what kind of learning experience people need."

Jane can tell you to the day when she first entered the STC, in its former incarnation as the hospital's nurse training school. (In case you're wondering, it was 27 September 1987). Though she has moved around the trust in its various guises since qualifying in 1990, Jane is currently ensconced once again in the building where her career kicked off, and which has been her work settings several times over the years.

Though she has many fond memories of her fellow students and the 'fantastic' tutors from her time as a nursing student 20-odd years ago, Jane is unlikely to shed a tear when the bulldozers move in to demolish 'alma mater' - being, as she is, all too aware that its best days are long gone.

Looking back, she recalls that staff would sometimes check up on nursing students who failed to turn up for study days by popping over to their rooms at the nearby Princess Marina House, which was eventually demolished because of fire risks.

"Upstairs in the octagonal area, alongside which my office is currently located, there used to an octagonal planter full of beautiful exotic-looking and well-tended plants. You used to be able to smoke downstairs in the lounge downstairs, and all the sessions ended at the same time so everyone gathered in one place. At tea breaks, the tea lady used to wheel the tea trolley over and serve drinks in a fog of smoke."