A ceremony has marked the final steel beams being put in place on two building schemes costing £70 million and expected to enhance services for people struggling with severe mental health issues.
The new inpatient facilities under construction in Bournemouth and Poole are run by Dorset HealthCare and funded by the government’s New Hospitals Programme (NHP).
The first project sees the creation of an eight-bed psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) for children and young people at Pebble Lodge in Alumhurst Road, Bournemouth.
It will be the first of its kind locally and mean seriously ill young people can be cared for close to home instead of being sent for specialist treatment elsewhere – potentially hundreds of miles from family and friends.
The second development, at St Ann’s Hospital in Sandbanks, Poole, will provide a replacement adult PICU alongside additional adult mental health inpatient beds with improved accommodation – ensuring all patients have their own rooms – and a new ‘place of safety’ suite for patients detained under the Mental Health Act.
Dorset HealthCare was allocated more than £70 million for the new facilities which are being built by Kier Construction and are on course to open in 2026.
Representatives from Dorset HealthCare, the NHP and Kier all signed the beams to mark completion of the buildings’ steel frames.
Morad Margoum, the Trust’s service director for children, young people and families, mental health and learning disabilities, said: “It’s great to see these facilities taking shape.
“Once complete, they will allow us to care for seriously-ill local people close to friends and family in purpose-built, modern accommodation.
“This will greatly reduce the need for out-of-area placements and improve people’s chances of a full recovery.”
Darren Crook CBE, NHP’s Executive Delivery Director, said: “It was a privilege to join our partners to mark this milestone in the construction of these new facilities, backed by more than £70 million in government funding, which will be transformational in delivery of mental health care for patients and their families across Dorset and the wider region.”
A dedicated web page with further information is available at www.dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk/about-us/future-mental-health.
It features design images and more information about how these facilities will improve mental health services in Dorset.