Patients to be treated in city with opening of new psychiatric unit

The psychiatric intensive care unit on the former Oakwood site at the Longley Centre at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield is due to open in the autumn next year.

The project will cost £6.5m, including a 10-bed intensive care unit, as well as works on the Longley Centre itself.

The development will mean patients with serious mental health problems will no longer have to leave the city to receive major treatment.

The chairman of Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust, Prof Alan Walker, said: “The need to improve mental health facilities for people living in Sheffield has long been recognised locally so we are delighted that we can now begin construction work.

“This is a tremendous step forward towards our aim of providing high-quality care in first-class accommodation for our service users and staff.”

Trust chief executive Kevan Taylor added: “The new expanded psychiatric intensive care unit will meet the needs of the 
diverse population of Sheffield and service users will no longer have to go out of Sheffield for treatment.

“This will mean that carers and family members will be able to maintain contact with service users more easily and that community services will be able to liaise and engage with service users more effectively.

“We believe that the new build will provide a more healing environment for service users and a better working environment for our much-valued staff.”

The building work is being undertaken by a construction firm, Interserve.