Nottinghamshire Healthcare, the County’s mental health learning disability and substance misuse service provider, is opening a new regional in patient unit for people who have drug and alcohol problems. The Woodlands unit, located at Highbury Hospital in Bulwell, was previously housed at the Wells Road Centre in Mapperley. The newly refurbished unit, costing £2.9m will provide 15 beds in a modern and therapeutic environment, with single en suite accommodation.
Before patients move into the unit next week senior managers from the Trust are testing the environment with a sleepover. This will give a chance for any teething problems to be sorted out before patients move onto the unit and for the Trust team to experience first hand the experience from a patient’s view.
The scheme has been funded from the Trust’s own resources and the treatment programme is designed to offer a reduced length of stay and a wider range of therapies, with particular emphasis on links back into the community. Nationally there is an acknowledged shortage of in patient beds for people with drug and alcohol problems. This new unit will go some way to addressing that shortage.
Simon Smith is Executive Director for Local Services within Nottinghamshire Healthcare:
“This new fit for purpose unit is long overdue. The new fresh environment will provide a welcoming setting for some of the most disadvantaged of our service users. It will be an interesting exercise to experience for ourselves what the service users will face. I am looking forward to seeing the service from the inside as it were.”
Following the sleepover there will be an open day for service users and carers to visit the new facility and see for themselves what a modern in patient unit feels like.
