As a former NHS mental health consultant it will come as no surprise that I am committed to improving mental health care, from ensuring the best legal framework for mental health provision to improvements in facilities and service delivery. It was therefore a real pleasure to attend the Surrey and Borders ‘topping out’ ceremony today to mark the huge progress made on our brand new mental health inpatient hospital being built on the St Peter’s Hospital campus in Chertsey.
The new hospital will deliver 4 new wards, totalling 64 new inpatient beds, each with en suite facilities. This is due to be completed in Spring next year. The importance of improved mental health facilities was debated in the House of Commons just yesterday, and I was pleased to have the opportunity to highlight the work of the local teams and the success of this project to replace the old Abraham Cowley Unit with the Health Minister, Neil O’Brien MP. You can view my comments to the Minister here, and my full speech on the mental health debate is available here.
This project is delivering on the Government commitment to do away with dormitory accommodation for inpatient mental health services, building new hospitals that provide state of the art facilities. Having worked in such wards I know the difference this will bring to patient care. I also know how tricky managing continued care through a transition like this can be, and I was pleased to be able to offer my thanks to both the project team and clinical teams who are all working so hard to deliver these amazing new facilities and improved service.
