Mental health wards transformed after two-and-a-half year refurb

Date published: 22 December 2022

A local NHS trust has transformed mental health hospital wards for adults and older people, to improve care and provide the highest levels of privacy and dignity.

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust runs 18 acute hospital wards across Bury, Oldham, Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside to treat mental health, learning disability and autism.

Following a two-and-a-half year programme, all wards now offer single gender accommodation. This means providing same gender sleeping areas, bathrooms, toilets, and communal areas.

All wards now provide care for a single type of mental health condition – functional (e.g. depression, anxiety or personality disorders) or organic (e.g. dementia or other neurological conditions). This will allow staff to provide more specialist care that better meets patients’ needs.
 

Read more: Patients welcomed to new psychiatric unitPublished: 27 October 2022

As part of the improvements, £1.5m has been invested in replacing Pennine Care’s two remaining shared dormitory wards with single ensuite bedrooms.

Moorside ward, based at Rochdale’s Birch Hill Hospital, now has 18 bedrooms for women aged 18 to 65 years, with functional conditions. Other improvements include a gym, therapy kitchen and lounge.
 

Read more: Shared dormitories on mental health ward removed as part of £1.5m improvement programmePublished: 02 September 2021

Ramsbottom ward, based at Bury’s Fairfield Hospital, has 10 bedrooms for women aged over 65 years, with organic conditions. Patients are also benefitting from a sensory room, with colour changing lights and hand painted fireplace, nature themed relaxation areas, an assisted bathroom and new outdoor area.

Both projects also included a range of improvements to support staff wellbeing, including a staff room and changing facilities.

Laura Challis, Ramsbottom ward manager said: “We’re all delighted with the improvements.

“We can now carefully tailor our care and therapy for women with dementia and we’ve really seen a difference.

“The single bedrooms have helped with privacy, dignity, and safety. And we have much more space on the ward, which assists in the delivery of therapeutic activities.

“Now we’re able to focus on single gender and condition, we’re working towards becoming dementia care specialists.  This involves undertaking lots of training to build our expertise, so our patients can benefit from the gold standard care they deserve.”

This work is part of Pennine Care’s ambitious transformation programme. People can find out more at www.penninecare.nhs.uk/transformation