Published on: 30 September 2021
Significant national investment of £80m is paving the way for the development of new mental health facilities across Derbyshire.
New hospitals will be built to support adults who require acute support for their mental health needs in both Derby and Chesterfield. The new hospitals will provide patients with single bedrooms, many with en-suite bathroom facilities, while they are in the Trust’s care.
The development will also include the creation of a new Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in Derby, which will reduce the need for people who require this greater level of support to travel outside of the county, which is the current arrangement.
Ifti Majid, the Trust’s Chief Executive, outlines the new plans:
“This investment is fantastic news for the people of Derbyshire and allows us to provide a better environment in which people can receive support for their mental health needs. Our current services at the Radbourne Unit in Derby and the Hartington Unit in Chesterfield currently provide care to people through dormitory style accommodation and I am delighted to be able to confirm that we will be able to offer our patients improved privacy and dignity through these new developments.“Many trusts across the county have already received investment to improve their facilities in this way and I’m delighted that we will be able to offer local people modern, purpose built accommodation which I know will aid their recovery and mental wellbeing.
“It is not ideal for local people to have to travel outside of Derbyshire to receive support for their mental health needs and the new PICU development will also mean that we can provide care closer to home, which is so beneficial to our patients and their families.”
The new services are expected to open to patients in 2024. The plans, which include a refurbishment of the current Radbourne Unit, will re-provide all mental health beds currently offered by the Trust.
What are the planned developments?
The planned developments include:
Development at Kingsway Hospital
- A new 54 bedded male facility, across three wards.
Development at the Chesterfield Royal Hospital site
- A new 54 bedded facility with single rooms, across three wards, with flexibility to support patients on the Chesterfield Royal Hospital site (this will replace the Hartington Unit, currently based on the same site).
In addition to seeking support for the national funding for these two schemes, the Trust will also be seeking support from the Joined Up Care Derbyshire system for local capital funding for:
Development at the Radbourne Unit (on the Royal Derby Hospital site)
- Refurbishment of the existing Radbourne Unit in Derby to provide 34 female single rooms, across two wards, and complete eradication of dormitory wards.
Development at Kingsway Hospital
- Up to eight new beds in an ‘acute plus’ facility for women
- A new PICU (Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit) for 14 men.
