A NEW £70 million hospital that aims to benefit patients across Birmingham will be opened five weeks ahead of schedule.
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Trust (BSMHT) will open their state-of-the-art facility on May 14 and will replace the Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital.
After receiving permission in 2000, BSMHT worked in partnership with Consort Healthcare, a concession company of engineering group Balfour Beatty, to provide improved services and facilities to patients.
Kate Phipps, service director at BSMHT said: "Our patients are our main priority and we believe the new hospital will not only deliver a safe and dignified environment that promotes hope and recovery, but also sets a precedent for modern mental health services across the UK.
"The opening of the new hospital is an amazing opportunity to reshape our services and ensure our patients receive the highest quality treatment and care. These 21 Century plans put patients wishes first, providing services when and how they want them and at the highest quality."
The development includes a new mental health hospital at the Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre in Edgbaston and a new community facility in Sparkhill.
As part of the project, the existing psychiatric hospital has been replaced with the Oleaster - a 64-bed unit for patients from south Birmingham, with a 10-bed psychiatric intensive care unit.
Along with the Oleaster, a "specialities" 34-bed block, called the Barberry, has been built to maintain care for women suffering mental health problems during pregnancy. There will be an inpatient ward for mothers and babies as well as services for people with eating disorders and deaf people with mental health problems.
In Sparkhill, the Zinnia Centre at Showell, Green Lane, offers a 32-bed unit for patients with mild to moderate mental health problems. The centre is aimed at making such treatment for mental health difficulties more accessible and closer to peoples' homes, with an outpatient department and a member of the Trust's community teams based there.
