This summer, two new state-of-the-art mental health facilities are opening in Dorset, which will help improve services across the county. I am sure most of us will know family, friends or neighbours who have faced serious mental health challenges – it is incredibly important that we have high quality provision locally.
After years of cutbacks and decline, this new investment into Dorset’s NHS is very welcome. The two new facilities – Chaddesley House at St Ann’s in Poole and Seastone at Alumhurst Road in Bournemouth – were built through the Labour Government’s New Hospitals Programme, backed by more than £40 million of funding.
When visiting both, I spoke with frontline NHS staff who told me what a difference the new facilities will make.
I know that access to mental health services across the county is too often a struggle, especially for young people. Seastone will be a dedicated facility for those facing the most severe mental health issues. While only one part of the puzzle, it will improve outcomes for many young people in Dorset in need of extensive support.
Ripple effect
The additional bed spaces unlocked by the opening of these facilities will have a positive knock-on effect for mental health services on our doorstep. The current waiting lists for any sort of treatment for mental health problems are still too long. Increasing provision for those needing the most support will free up services for many others who are in need of help and treatment.
Having these new facilities here in Dorset will also make a big difference to families whose loved ones will now be able to access treatment. Currently, because of the shortage of spaces locally, patients can be sent as far away as Newcastle to access specialist mental health treatment. Having the facilities up the road in Poole and Bournemouth is certainly a major improvement.
Looking at the bigger picture, I’m pleased that this Labour Government is improving mental health services across the board.
At the last general election, the incoming Labour government promised to recruit 8,500 new mental health workers over five years. The pledge has already been met – three years ahead of schedule. This means more therapists, more nurses and more psychiatrists working across our NHS, providing vital care and support. Cuts and poor decisions made by the previous Conservative government did serious damage to mental health care in Dorset.
New investment, combined with genuine reforms is an incredibly welcome change – vital to getting the NHS on the road to recovery and ensuring that mental health services here in Dorset are fit for the future.
In Westminster, I will continue to bang the drum for all our NHS hospitals – so we receive the resources and funding we need.
Lloyd Hatton MP
South Dorset
