Image source, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
- Author, Dan Martin
- Role, BBC News, Leicester
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June 9, 2024, 07:05 BST
Plans to replace Leicester’s main mental health treatment unit with a more modern facility are set to be approved.
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust wants to decommission the Bradgate Unit built in the 1980s at Glenfield Hospital.
The trust said it would not be possible to address concerns raised about its mental health care at the current facilities.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has said some existing rooms “were not always safe, clean, well maintained and fit for purpose.”
Blaby District Council will discuss a planning application for a new building, close to the site of the current one, on Thursday.
Planning officers have recommended the plan be approved by councillors.
The trust said it did not want to comment ahead of the meeting.
However, in papers lodged with the council, the trust said: “The current accommodation is not suitable for a modern mental health service.
“Successive visits by the Care Quality Commission have identified a range of relevant issues at the Bradgate site which cannot be rectified without substantial investment.”
The trust has not said how much it would cost to build the new facility.
Image source, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
The documents added: “It is recognized that it will not be possible to further improve the facilities or resolve the outstanding issues raised by the CQC without significant capital investment in a new state-of-the-art, purpose-built facility.”
Under the plans, four new acute adult mental health rooms would be created along with therapy spaces, a “safety assessment unit location,” offices, an educational training center and an urgent care center.
The new building would be on an 8.5-acre (3.42 hectare) grassland area that includes temporary parking for staff.
The trust said the current Bradgate Unit would be demolished or converted into a permanent pharmacy building serving the hospital.
