Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust hopes to consolidate its mental health services provision on one site, with purpose-built facilities
The Trust says feedback received in the consultation will help inform the final planning application.(Image: Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust)
A new vision for a Willerby site is to be shown to residents who will get their say on the plans. Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust is hosting a public consultation on proposals for its Willerby Hill site, where it hopes to bring together adult mental health services in one location.
The Trust’s adult mental health inpatient services are currently spread across nine units in the Hull area. Each supports people based on the severity of their needs, the type of condition and their age or gender.
With ageing buildings unable to accommodate the modern therapeutic environments required, the Trust has turned to its Willerby site with plans for purpose-built facilities developed in phases. The Trust has been eyeing the changes for several years, with changing Governments and pressure on NHS capital funding the project frustrating progress – but the project was presented to Hull City Council‘s and East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees earlier this year.
And now there are plans to submit a planning application later this year. First, the community will get the chance to influence that application through a consultation event held at the Trust’s Lecture Theatre in Willerby, HU10 6FE, between 3pm-7pm on August 24.
Here, local people will get the opportunity to view the emerging proposals, ask questions and provide feedback before the application is finalised and submitted for permissions. Comments can also be made online until September 13 via a questionnaire.
The Trust says the redevelopment of Willerby Hill will allow it to design wards around modern mental health standards, bringing in more natural light, private en-suite rooms, dedicated therapy and activity areas, calming spaces and secure outdoor environments. Such features are said to support recovery in ways older buildings cannot.
There are also benefits in creating a more cohesive workforce with staff working side-by-side at the same site, and with access to senior clinicians made easier. The Trust says it could reduce the need for temporary staff as larger teams in modern environments are said to be easier to recruit and retain.
It also points to smoother care provision, avoiding a disconnected feeling and the need for information to be repeated or for patients to navigate between teams. Meanwhile improved accessibility is a major selling point with more consideration given to travel, public transport and parking through the planning process, to benefit patients, families, carers and staff.
The Trust has stressed that the redevelopment proposals are not about changes to mental health services with any future proposals to relocate services to be considered separately through the NHS’s formal service change process. Existing inpatient services will continue to operate throughout the planning process and any future construction programme, with no impact on the care currently provided to patients.
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