New mental health beds pledged for Royal Preston Hospital

Eleven new mental health rehabilitation beds costing £2m will open in Preston later this year to help meet demand.
Avondale unitAvondale unit
Avondale unit

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust is opening the beds to increase more capacity in its mental health services.

The beds are expected to reduce the number of people with mental health issues being sent to other parts of the country due to bed shortages, or people with mental health issues visiting hospital accident and emergency departments.

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The beds will begin operating in April this year and will be housed at the Trust’s Avondale Unit which is located at Royal Preston Hospital.

Dr Richard Morgan, Medical Director at Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“This is really going to make a difference to how mental health services are delivered in Lancashire and South Cumbria. At present, though there are sufficient acute mental health beds for adults, there are gaps in specialist rehabilitation beds for people with long term mental health issues.

“This means that some people who require rehabilitation are staying in acute beds for too long. This isn’t the best way to meet their needs and it also means that other people who need to be admitted can’t always get a bed when needed. The new beds will free up acute inpatient beds and mean that fewer people with mental health issues will be sent out of area or present at hospital A&E departments.”

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