New £24.3m mental health unit opens for adults

Sadie Bond was born in Bloxwich Hospital and went on to work there for 35 years

A new state-of-the art £24.3m mental health unit for older adults is set to open in a West Midlands town.

The Dorothy Pattison Hospital Older Adults Unit was purpose-built in Walsall to provide inpatient care for older adults with dementia and other mental health conditions.

The opening marks the end of an era for Bloxwich Hospital, which shut its doors for the last time on Wednesday as its patients were transferred to the new site.

For Sadie Bond, who was born in the hospital and went on to work there, the transition is bittersweet.

"It's very sad because we are leaving all of those memories behind but we're going to bring those to the new-build and it will be a new start for us," she said.

"When I first started working at Bloxwich Hospital 35 years ago, they told me not to get settled but 35 years on we've finally got our new-build, it's exciting I can't believe it's finally happening."

The new unit at the Dorothy Pattinson Hospital replaces the services provided by Bloxwich Hospital

First built in 1830 as a private residence, the hospital was used as a maternity unit in 1929 then turned into a psychiatric facility in 1994.

Described as no longer fit for purpose by health bosses, 25 patients have been moved out of Bloxwich Hospital and taken to the new site.

Each patient will now have an en suite instead of the dormitory-style rooms at Bloxwich Hospital

The new unit include private en suite rooms, a communal garden, a dedicated assisted bathroom and purpose-built end-of-life care facilities.

There are currently 944,000 people in the UK living with dementia, latest NHS figures show, with the figure projected to rise above a million by 2030 and reach 1.6 million by 2050.

Dr Aparna Prasana said the new facility was an improvement in how the NHS cared for older adults with mental health conditions

Dr Aparna Prasana, deputy chief medical officer at the Black Country Healthcare NHS Trust, said: "Our patients deserve the best possible care in the most suitable environment for their wellbeing.

"Personalised, co-ordinated care is at the heart of what we do."

Further investment in older adult services by the trust is also ongoing with a revamp of Edward Street Hospital in West Bromwich due to finish this summer.