Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust has officially opened a new low secure Learning Disability Residential Unit at Tatchbury Mount in Calmore in Hampshire.
‘Ashford’ is a purpose-built 10-bedded ward specifically for adult men with a learning disability detained under the Mental Health Act. Representing an investment of around £10 million, it has been welcomed by the 40+ strong multi-disciplinary team who will work there – comprising nurses, support workers, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists.
Southern Health’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Mayura Deshpande, explained: “The new building is based on the site of the former Rufus Lodge – an unused building which was no longer appropriate for clinical use. By creating a new, safe and modern space in its place, we can welcome our patients back to Calmore after they had temporarily been cared for by our staff in Fareham, during construction.”
Originally, the ward had been located elsewhere on the Tatchbury Mount site in Woodhaven – which has since become Southern Health’s new low secure CAMHS unit, Austen House. As part of the relocation and investment process, Southern Health worked with contractor Kier to involve staff, patients, and families, in various elements of the unit’s design, with a number of site visits hosted during the building works.