Public Consultation on mental health inpatient facilities serving the East of Berkshire

What is proposed?
The most significant change proposed in the options is to the actual physical location of the inpatient beds, but each option also has improvements to the quality of care that can be provided. All the options concern services for people over the age of 18 who live in the east of Berkshire and who require inpatient care for a mental health problem. Under all options, inpatient services to people living in the West of Berkshire will continue to be provided at Prospect Park Hospital in Reading and any changes will not impact on these services.

Berkshire Health Care Trust have not considered upgrading current wards in Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals as we know that we can not stay there for more than about 3 years. We rent the space we currently occupy from those hospitals and we know they have longer term plans for the space we use.

The options they are considering are:

Option 1: All hospital beds to be provided at Prospect Park Hospital in Reading resulting in us vacating all existing beds from the current 3 sites in the east.

Option 2: All hospital beds to be provided at Prospect Park Hospital except for those for older people (aged 75 years and over) in Charles Ward at St. Mark's Hospital, Maidenhead. Charles Ward would be redecorated and new furnishings provided, but not upgraded (the building itself cannot be altered to provide single bedrooms).

Option 3: Build a new, dedicated mental health unit at Upton Hospital, Slough which would replace all the current hospital beds in the east of Berkshire. Prospect Park Hospital would continue to serve the west of Berkshire.

More information

For more information, visit the page for this consultation:
http://www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/page.asp?fldArea=3&fldMenu=8&fldSubMenu=0&fldKey=1123