12.07.12
£298m Broadmoor redevelopment confirmed
An extensive redevelopment of Broadmoor Hospital has been approved by the Department of Health, with a £298m investment to make the site fit for purpose.
The current Victorian site dates back to 1860, with old buildings and facilities. The investment will be used to build new high-quality secure accommodation and provide more modern facilities to treat patients in a secure environment.
Broadmoor treats patients with mental illness and personality disorders who represent a high degree of risk to themselves or others.
Care services minister Paul Burstow said: “It is clear that the facilities at Broadmoor are no longer fit for purpose. This investment is vital if we are to maintain security at the site and provide patients with treatment in the most appropriate conditions.
“The redevelopment will ensure that the hospital can provide facilities where patients can be treated and recover in a safe and restricted environment. We cannot let this hospital continue to crumble.”
Steve Shrubb, chief executive of the West London Mental Health NHS Trust, which runs the site, said: “Modernisation will make a tremendous difference to the hospital’s patients, services and quality of care, whilst alleviating the difficult working conditions our staff have been dealing with and have worked extremely hard to overcome.”
Nigel McCorkell, trust chairman, added: “The redevelopment ofBroadmoorHospitalis long overdue. The buildings have seen very little change over the years whereas psychiatric treatments have radically progressed.
“If hospital staff are to continue caring for men with severe mental illnesses and reduce the risk they pose to themselves and the public, the trust must provide treatment in a modern, safe and secure environment which supports the outstanding clinical and therapeutic care our staff are able to offer patients today.”
The refurbishment is due for completion at the end of 2018.
NHE took a detailed look at the proposals in our May/June 2012 edition: visit www.nationalhealthexecutive.com/Health-Service-Focus/a-modern-hospital-for-mental-health
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