Building for better care - Our new mental health inpatient services
Delivering high quality mental health care and treatment is fundamental to what we do as a Trust; we committed to develop three new mental health inpatient services in Guildford, Chertsey, and east Surrey because we want to provide the best in mental health care. Farnham Road Hospital, Guildford, opened in December 2015, and following its completion, our focus moved to the former Abraham Cowley Unit (ACU) site on the St. Peter’s Hospital campus, Chertsey and a third service to be provided in the east of the county. Here we share the latest programme updates.
Construction of new Northwest Mental Health Inpatient Service reaches the highest point
The construction of our new Northwest Surrey Mental Health Inpatient Service, located on the former Abraham Cowley Unit site in Chertsey, reached a significant milestone in June. The brand new building reached the highest point of its construction journey, marking a major step forward in the development of this crucial service.
An official ‘Topping Out’ ceremony, as it’s known in the construction world, marked the occasion with local dignitaries including the Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey - Sir Michael More-Molyneux, the Mayor of Runnymede - Councillor Shannon Saise-Marshall, and Dr Ben Spencer, MP for Runnymede and Weybridge in attendance. During the event, Graham Wareham, our Chief Executive, expressed his admiration for the rapid progress and transformation on site, and emphasized how we are now another milestone closer to opening the building next year.
The new service will be ready for inpatient admissions from autumn 2024. The new service will provide four brand new wards (64 beds in total), all with single ensuite bedrooms to provide greater privacy and dignity for people using our services. There will be a variety of dedicated spaces tailored to the clinical needs of the ward, including activity, therapy, and sensory-type calm rooms. There will also be greater access to garden space; each ward will have a dedicated garden and there will be a woodland area for supervised walks.
Progress continues at pace and the steel frame is now finished. Groundworks, including drainage, are 60% complete and the walls are going up.
Help us name our new Northwest Mental Health Inpatient Service in Chertsey
We’re inviting everyone who has used our mental health services, their families and carers, our colleagues and anyone with an interest in mental health to help us name the building and four wards for our new Northwest Mental Health Inpatient Service in Chertsey. The building is currently under construction on the former Abraham Cowley Unit site, St. Peter’s Hospital campus and is due to open in autumn 2024. In May, we carried out an initial survey asking people to choose their favourite themes for the wards and the building names. Over 140 people took part, and the winning theme was a mix of bird and flower names. There was also a popular suggestion to use stars and constellations representing positivity, happiness, and uniqueness. The survey also showed that people want the ward names to be related to the name of the building itself. We have now compiled a shortlist of names based on the survey results.
Engaging with people who use our services
We held our latest Lived Experience Group event in May, and in this session, we explored the art strategy for the new building. Our art strategy is closely linked to the interior design of the new building, which features a natureinspired theme of flowing rivers symbolizing the journey to recovery. The design focuses on holistic support, protection, and well-being to create an environment in which people feel safe and comfortable.
As a starting point, we looked to the local landscapes for inspiration, and we have identified different places within the building that would be ideal for different art types. These range from decorative window artwork called manifestations, to bespoke wall coverings and etched external cladding.
In the session, we also explored the new acute inpatient guidance from NHS England and what this means for the new service. This guidance sets out the vision for effective, good quality care in adult acute inpatient mental health services and provides information and resources to support service delivery. Whilst the guidance is still in draft form at this stage, it is important to reflect on it in light of the new service we are building.
Our next Lived Experience Group will be held on Thursday 26 October 10am – 12pm. Information about future meetings and previous presentations are available on the Trust’s website.
Plans for our new mental health inpatient service in east Surrey
For our final service, to be located in East Surrey, we have agreed the proposed bed numbers. We continue to review the scheme options and are conducting wider clinical engagement.
Contact us:
If you have any questions, you would like more information or to sign up for an event, please get in touch. You can contact the team at: newhospitals@sabp.nhs.uk