New £9m Chester mental health facility underway

Published: 6-May-2015

Work begins on child and adolescent mental health unit

A £9m project to construct a new children and adolescent mental health facility for Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP) is underway.

Work is being undertaken by Eric Wright Construction and is scheduled for completion in May 2016.

The two-storey facility will be built within the grounds of the Countess of Chester Health Park on a site owned by CWP. It will provide 26 beds in two wards of 12 and 14 beds, each of which will be subdivided into two smaller areas with beds and day spaces, a central nursing station, a seclusion suite, and a four-bed psychiatric intensive care unit.

The new unit will be a ‘Tier 4’ facility, providing inpatient and day patient care for children and young people with severe and/or complex mental health conditions that are beyond the remit of community young people’s mental health services. It has been designed by mental health specialist, Gilling Dod Architects.

The contract has been awarded on behalf of the trust by Villicare, Ryhurst’s joint venture with CWP, which was formed to assist the trust with its capital investment programme and will be managing the delivery of the project.

The new unit will also include an education centre, secure gardens enclosed by the building for security and privacy, along with horticultural and landscaped areas providing recreational facilities including outdoor exercise apparatus.

Admin facilities on the ground floor will adjoin a small two-storey section of the building, as well as visiting areas and communal spaces, such as activities of daily living (ADL) amenities, an exercise room and multi-faith area.

Tim Welch, CWP deputy chief executive and director of finance, said: “The new unit will provide a state-of-the-art child and adolescent mental health service unit. It will address the national agenda to provide increased mental health care and support for young people and we anticipate that it will become a best-practice facility, benefitting from the latest green technologies in close proximity to the country park with easy access to open spaces. CWP is committed to reinvesting in our services to provide patients with the best-possible experience and the new unit will be an excellent facility for young people and their families across Cheshire and Wirral.”

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