£25m mental health hospital plan for North Liverpool

A BID to build a £25m mental health hospital on the site of the former Walton hospital is set to be approved by city planners.

The Merseycare bid will provide 85 in-patient beds for adults and the elderly, including patients with dementia and learning disabilities. The Trust said if it was granted permission it hoped to begin work this summer with a view to opening in 2013.


It will be largely ground-floor accommodation, including landscaped gardens which are intended to be tranquil environments that would encourage recovery.

If the bid is successful it will replace the current facilities at Stoddard House in Aintree, which are said to be “deemed clinically unfit for purpose”.

The application to go before planners at next Tuesday’s meeting states: “Over recent years the facilities of a full hospital at Walton have been transferred to other sites, leaving only the current application site in the ownership of the NHS.

“The bulk of the Walton site was sold for housing but this development has stalled after the main building was converted and a first phase of residential building was completed to the rear of the clocktower.”

The project is part of the To Improve Mental Health Environments (TIME) scheme, which is also behind another facility in Edge Lane.

The Walton site was chosen because “a significant proportion” of mental health patients live in North Liverpool and South Sefton or Kirkby and the Fazakerley site is on major transport routes.

Mersey Care’s TIME project director John Doyle said: “This proposal will bring a much-needed facility for Liverpool, Sefton and Knowsley.

“Local people deserve modern, fit-for-purpose buildings offering accommodation which respects their needs for privacy and dignity. We want to provide care in a therapeutic environment that gives people light and space, activities and safe access to outdoor areas to help speed their recovery.”

The report to planners adds: “The site is currently vacant and the development will contribute to the enhancement of this area and most importantly the development would enable Merseycare to transform its service delivery and address the needs of local people with mental health problems.

“The area has been identified as having a need for modern mental health facilities and this high profile site is important in raising the profile of Merseycare’s services and mental health in general.”

The bid is recommended to be approved.

Read More http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/01/08/25m-mental-health-hospital-plan-for-north-liverpool-100252-27950906/