An Isle of Wight rehabilitation facility is set to undergo a £1.5 million upgrade.
Woodlands, based in Wootton Bridge, is a ten-bed rehabilitation facility owned by Southern Housing and leased by the Isle of Wight NHS Trust.
It provides support for people who have been detained under the mental health act, or via a court order, and have a high level of need.
Current staffing issues
A report put before the Trust said:
“Due to current staffing issues, residents may not receive the level of treatment needed, or indeed commissioned.”
The trust now plans to provide more support in the form of ‘flatlets’, with a communal space to avoid isolation, with an intensive support team on site. The service is likely to operate from multiple locations.
Funding has yet to be secured for the project, but the trust said it was exploring a number of sources.
Updating needed
John Doherty, clinical director for Mental Health Services, said:
“Woodlands was highlighted in a CQC inspection as having a number of problems both environmental and with the present model of care which, while far from poor, needs refreshing and updating and had been seen as somewhat paternal in nature, not helping fully with people moving on to greater independence.
“The business case approved by the trust board at its meeting in February describes a preferred model that was developed in partnership and is more fitting to both local need and up to date models.
“We believe this will significantly improve both the model of care and the environment in which care is provided. We also believe the new service will be more attractive in terms of recruitment.”
Mental health a priority
Darren Cattell, chief finance offer for Isle of Wight NHS Trust said:
“Funding investment in our mental health services is an important priority for the trust as part of our programme of improvements.“
Article edit
Added: The service is likely to operate from multiple locations.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some additions by OnTheWight. Ed
Image by neillwphoto under CC BY 2.0
