Royal Preston Hospital is due to get 11 new mental health rehabilitation beds costing £2 million.

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust is adding the beds to increase capacity in its mental health services.

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

The beds, which will become available in April this year, will be housed at the Trust’s Avondale Unit at RPH.

Dr Richard Morgan, Medical Director at Lancashire and 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 the area or present at hospital A&E departments.”

Read more: Proud Preston – how our city has championed mental health support in 2019 

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