Plans for a new inpatient mental health unit in Denbighshire have gone on display to the public.
They are being invited to share their feedback on Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s plans for the new 63-bed unit within the grounds of Glan Clwyd Hospital, before their submission to Denbighshire County Council in October.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Health Board has continued work with partners, BAM Construction and Gleeds, on the inpatient unit’s development. Replacing the care currently provided at the hospital’s Ablett Unit, the new facility, at the rear of the hospital, will provide acute inpatient mental health care to adults from Conwy, Denbighshire and parts of Flintshire, ‘in a modern building with more mental health beds and significantly improved staff and patient facilities’.
Plans include the introduction of a dedicated new Dementia Assessment Unit, ‘incorporating the latest evidence on dementia supportive environments’, to replace the service currently provided at the Bryn Hesketh Unit in Colwyn Bay’. It will also feature a dedicated crisis assessment area.
‘Built to the highest energy efficiency standards’, – the development will support the Welsh Government’s response to the climate emergency. Under the plans, subject to planning permission from Denbighshire County Council and funding approval from the Welsh Government, the new building will be completed by 2024, and will cost an estimated £64 m.
Jill Timmins, Programme Director for the Ablett Unit Redevelopment, said:
“Over the past 12 months we have conducted significant engagement with people who use our services, their loved ones, our own staff, and those from partner organisations to help inform these exciting plans. This is a new chapter for mental healthcare in central North Wales, and we want local people to have a sense of pride in the building and the care delivered from it.
“We’re keen to hear feedback from people across Conwy, Denbighshire, and Flintshire, and would encourage them to visit the Health Board website to view the plans and let us know what they think.”
The plans have been welcomed by North Wales mental health service-user and carer involvement organisation, Caniad, which has played a key role in the design process. Peter Williams from Caniad said: “Caniad service-users and carers have been actively involved in the design process for the new building, and we are all very excited about the benefits the new unit will deliver for patients and staff.”