October 10, 2022 9.59 am This story is over 31 months old

New mental health wards under construction in Lincoln and Boston soon

Patients will have their own rooms instead of shared units
| Photo: Stock

Work is progressing on new Lincolnshire mental health wards, so patients no longer have to sleep in shared rooms.

Two new acute wards are under construction in Lincoln, with another planned in Boston.

Lincolnshire County Council is set to hear a report next week on how the changes will make patients feel safer and more secure.

The CQC has concluded that multiple mental health patients to a ward weren’t helpful for “privacy, dignity or recovery”.

An extension to Lincoln County Hospital’s Peter Hodgkinson Centre will create 19 en-suite rooms with improved facilities. It is expected to be open by April 2023.

Land at Norton Lea in Boston has been identified as the preferred site to replace a mixed-gender ward at Pilgrim Hospital, less than three miles away.

In the three current shared wards, patients sleep in dormitories of four to five beds, with only curtains in between them.

They have said in surveys that they don’t feel safe with the current set-up.

Aerial view sketch of Peter Hodgkinson Centre | Photo: Gilling Dod Architects

The Lincolnshire Partnership NHS received £37 million to get rid of shared accommodation.

Extra funding bids are being submitted due to rising construction costs.

The council report says: “Several patient surveys have highlighted that patients do not feel safe and secure in the current ward environments, due to the shared nature of bedroom areas and that environments are outdated and lack natural light.

“There is also a lack of suitable space for patients to spend time with families and friends during their stay.”

It adds that lack of personal space can exacerbate a person’s illness.

All of the trust’s other acute mental health wards have single-occupant bedrooms.

Construction on the Lincoln project began at the end of 2021.

Public consultation on the Boston works will be held from 2pm to 7pm on October 25 and November 1 at St Thomas Church on London Road.

The county council’s Health Scrutiny Committee will discuss the plans on Wednesday, October 12.