Hospital consider £50m revamp of Bradgate Unit
Mental health unit could be rebuilt or refurbished
HOSPITAL bosses are putting together a “£50 million” bid to revamp the Bradgate Unit.
Dr Peter Miller, chief executive of the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust said it would take a £50 million investment to rebuild the mental health unit, which is based at Glenfield Hospital.
The plan, which could see the unit rebuilt or refurbished, was revealed as councillors on the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Joint Health Scrutiny Committee quizzed health chiefs about a recent Care Quality Commission report.
Dr Miller said that the unit is not fit for purpose, which could prevent inspectors from improving the service’s rating.
He added: “On their latest visit they talked about areas [of the Bradgate Unit] where nothing short of a rebuild will provide us with CQC compliance.
“We’re putting together a capital bid to rebuild the unit, completely revamp it.”
The plans will include single en-suite rooms rather than dormitory accommodation to address dignity and privacy issues highlighted by CQC inspectors.
Dr Miller told the meeting that a strategic outline case should be ready by July this year.
He added: “The whole rebuild of the Bradgate Unit, which is a £50m investment, that will take some time to develop.
He said that a capital plan to improve crisis accommodation at the unit has already been completed after inspectors branded assessment rooms ‘unsafe’ because they only had one exit and contained lightweight furniture which could be used as a barricade or weapon.
In their latest report, CQC inspectors highlighted safeguarding issues, noted that there were areas of the unit with ‘blind spots’ and said that interview rooms did not have vision panels in the doors and contained items that could pose a danger to patients and staff.
Inspectors also raised concerns about ligature risks being accessible to patients on acute wards, out of date medication not being disposed of correctly and nurse call alarms being out of order.
The report said that the current arrangements on the unit did not support patient privacy and dignity.
A spokesperson for the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust said: “Our trust has a commitment to making continuous improvements so we can provide the best quality care possible.
“Most of the main Bradgate Mental Health Unit wards date from the mid1980s and there are a number of environmental issues today that make it more challenging to meet modern standards of care.
“The majority of our wards are made up of two and four-bedroomed dormitories rather than single rooms with ensuite facilities that better support patient privacy and dignity.
“Other constraints can affect our ability to ensure patients have the choice of same-sex accommodation.
“We recognise, as part of our Trustwide strategy, that we need to plan for medium to long-term changes that will overcome the issues and support the future quality of care.
“We are currently working on a strategic outline case to identify the different options and potential resources required for building and improvement works. This might include a new build or refurbishing the existing buildings.
“Support would be required from the sustainability and transformation partnership (an organisation made up of the local NHS and local councils) as the trust would be looking to secure national investment.”
Between January 1 and December 31, 2017, there were 945 admissions to the acute wards at the Bradgate Mental Health Unit, excluding psychiatric intensive care (PICU). The unit has seven acute wards, with 138 beds.
Patients admitted to the unit were aged between 18 and 77 and had usually received a diagnosis of first episode psychosis, recurrent and enduing psychosis, non psychotic disorders, psychosis crisis and psychosis and affective disorders.