£16m redevelopment of Fieldhead hospital begins
A ground breaking ceremony at Fieldhead hospital has marked the start of a £16m project by South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to transform mental health services in Wakefield.
The work will support the Trust’s ongoing commitment to improve services for local residents and will include a complete redevelopment of the adult acute mental health Priory and Trinity wards as well as the older people’s Chantry inpatient unit.
Interserve Construction is on-site undertaking the multi-phased redevelopment scheme which will completely transform the current facilities, involving the demolition of existing wards and the construction of a new build adult acute mental health wards. Patients will benefit from purpose built state of the art therapeutic areas, en-suite bathrooms and vastly improved relaxation areas to help people on their journey to recovery.
Other areas of the development will include modernised visitor areas, an improved reception facility and a better working environment for staff. Work is expected to complete in late 2018.
Chief Executive Rob Webster said: “This is a big investment by the Trust which shows our commitment to delivering high quality services to our communities. As a Trust we aim to be outstanding, so the modernisation of our main Fieldhead site is vital.
“This work will improve the experience of people, enhancing privacy and dignity and creating a more suitable environment at a time when people can feel vulnerable. It’s great to be working with Interserve who have delivered improvements for us in the past. Together we will build something that helps improve outcomes for local people.”
Interserve Divisional Director John Gittins said: “We are pleased to be involved with a scheme that will take the quality of mental health care services in the region to a new level.
“We have a long-standing collaborative relationship with the Trust who are forward thinking, and we look forward to further strengthening this as they continue to invest in their facilities.”