£4m boost for mental health care in district

The centre, in Swallownest, was officially opened yesterday with refurbished wards and a new purpose-built psychiatric intensive care unit.

Gary Millard, assistant director for adult inpatient mental health services at Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH), said: “We’re delighted to welcome our service users, their carers, and RDaSH staff to the new accommodation at Swallownest Court.

“The refurbishment and newly-built psychiatric intensive care unit represent significant investment in the care and treatment of local adults who have mental health problems, and demonstrate our commitment to providing the best possible care in an environment that is fully fit for purpose.”

An invitation-only event is being held today for stakeholders and locals to look around the site.

In early June, patients will move into the facility from their current wards in Rotherham General Hospital.

A spokesman for RDaSH said: “This work is a key part of the £20m RDaSH modernisation programme for adult and older people’s mental health services in Rotherham.

“The programme aims to deliver high quality, state-of-the-art accommodation for service users to promote their mental wellbeing and assist their recovery.

“Patients who are currently accommodated at three wards in Rotherham General Hospital will transfer to the Osprey, Sandpiper and Kingfisher wards at Swallownest Court in early June.

“Osprey and Sandpiper have been fully modernised and provides ground-floor, single sex accommodation with en-suite bathrooms for 18 patients on each ward.

“Kingfisher – the psychiatric intensive care unit –is a completely new purpose-built five-bed unit.”