Funding to eliminate mental health dormitory wards

The funding builds on £250m announced in the summer, which is also aimed at removing dormitories, ministers said. Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock (pictured) announced 21 trusts that will receive funding to update their accommodation with single, en suite rooms. He said the individual accommodation would improve care and reduce lengths of stay.

There would be further benefits in better infection control and in reducing incidents involving patients or staff.

‘By eradicating outdated and unsuitable dormitories across England we can ensure those suffering with mental illness are given the safety, privacy and dignity they deserve,’ Mr Hancock said.

‘Not only will the new single rooms improve the individual care we can offer patients, they will provide a better environment for our hardworking staff too.’

Royal College of Psychiatrists president Adrian James said the upgrade to single, en suite rooms was a positive, much-needed step that was now even more urgent in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and a second wave.

‘With this funding, government is taking decisive action to properly support people living with a mental illness. We hope that the necessary investment in other areas of the mental health estate will follow in the upcoming spending review,’ he added.

Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, also welcomed the announcement, though she added it was long overdue.

‘The state of mental health facilities has been an issue of deep concern, and an obstacle to providing the quality of care that people rightly expect. This has reflected the longstanding lack of equity of treatment associated with mental health,’ she said.

The government announcement marked World Mental Health Day. It added that £2m would be allocated for research into the effects of Covid-19 on mental health, which will focus on the impact of the pandemic on healthcare workers, children and young people, and those with serious mental health problems.