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Posted on 30 Jan 2020

The Trust’s proposal to buy an inpatient facility at Sherwood Oaks Business Park in Mansfield from St Andrews Healthcare has been under consideration for some time. The decision as to whether to buy this building will not be confirmed until the Trust Board of Directors meets on Tuesday 4 February.

The Trust currently provides inpatient care for adult mental health (AMH) and mental health services for older people (MHSOP) at the Millbrook site – a total of 76 acute mental health beds.

The inpatient environments at Millbrook do not meet good practice guidance and the Trust is committed to making significant improvements to ensure we can provide care in facilities that recognise the importance of the built environment on patient safety, privacy, dignity, behaviour and well-being. Challenges at our Millbrook site include ‘dormitory’ style accommodation; inadequate outdoor space; difficulties for staff in keeping lines of sight for observations; and ward sizes – with one ward being above the recommended size.

A key priority is to provide facilities which have single, ensuite accommodation, as recommended by the Care Quality Commission.

We have looked at the option to re-develop the Millbrook site for AMH and MHSOP services, but it is clearly unaffordable and would entail significant disruption and decanting of patients during the programme of works. There is also a risk that the site is simply not big enough to accommodate the required number of beds in a reconfiguration that reduces ward size, delivers single ensuite rooms and provides better outdoor spaces.

4 miles from the Millbrook and on a public transport route, the proposed building has single ensuite accommodation and good outdoor spaces.  The site currently provides low and medium secure healthcare.

Acquiring this site will give us the opportunity to move AMH services to that site and retain MHSOP services at Millbrook.  For MHSOP services, this keeps the adjacencies to acute medical care on the King’s Mill site, which our clinicians feel is important.  In time, we will look at any necessary developments required to ensure MHSOP accommodation meets good practice guidelines. 

If successful, our acquisition and development of the St Andrew’s site presents a fantastic opportunity to improve care for the local population.

Due to the complex nature of the needs of St Andrew’s patients at the site, it will take some months for St Andrew’s to work with their commissioners, patients and carers to develop onward packages of care in order to safely transfer their patients.  We recognise and support St Andrew’s commitment to handle this sensitively with patients and their families.  This move will be in line with the Government’s Transforming Care programme, aiming to reduce the number of people with autism and learning disabilities who are living in secure care, and increasing the number who are supported within the community, in a less restrictive setting.

Our current estimate is that we may be able to take ownership of the site during the Autumn this year and would hope to be able to complete any modifications to the site by 2021 ready for the transfer of our services. 

Our Board of Directors is excited about this potential development and the significant impact it would have on improving the care we provide for the local population.  If we can progress the acquisition, it will entail a significant capital investment by the Trust.

We are also working closely with St Andrew’s to develop a joint workforce plan so that, where appropriate, the Trust can offer employment to as many of the existing staff at the new site as possible, subject to their suitability.