The Carsington Unit is a new 54-bed facility set in the beautiful surroundings of Kingsway Hospital, Derby – with single-room, en suite accommodation across three wards. It will serve adults of working age, relocating from the Radbourne Unit, Royal Derby Hospital site.
This development provides a rare investment and a unique opportunity to improve our adult acute care facilities to benefit the people of Derbyshire, giving service users and staff an opportunity to shape the future of mental health facilities and environments.
The new facilities offer great training and development opportunities for both new, and existing, staff. Wards will be single sex allowing for increased levels of privacy, with more specialised standards of care.
The changes will result in an improved patient experience. All rooms are single and en suite, improving privacy and dignity and bringing our inpatient provision in line with national requirements.
The new Carsington Unit is being purpose built and will be equipped with modern facilities and additional resources (for example a shared therapy suite incorporating ADL kitchen, indoor fitness room, online library resource room, arts room and access to a secured roof terrace/sky garden for wards on the first floor)
It is intended, following feedback from service users and staff, that therapy-based tools shall be increased to aid recovery so the new unit allows for this.
It is believed that single-room accommodation can reduce the length of stay in a hospital setting. Single rooms will allow for an improvement to individual patient care. Patient preferences can be considered to a greater degree. For example, service users will be able to adjust the temperature and lighting in their rooms, and have their own television which can be linked to their mobile phone to play music.
The purpose-built facilities and single rooms will allow for better infection control and reduction in the risk of incidents involving patients or staff.
The new unit will be located on a specialist site for mental health care, including a new Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit providing greater support locally and easier step down to wider facilities including rehabilitation services.
