Construction begins on new mental health unit in Boston which aims to cater for south Lincolnshire patients

The first bricks have been laid for a new state-of-the-art mental health inpatient unit as construction starts on a project that aims to boost care.

The unit is being built by Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) and will include a new 19-bed mixed-gender adult inpatient ward to cater for patients across south Lincolnshire.

A golden trowel commemorative event took place to mark the brick work commencing on the outside of the building, at the Norton Lea site on London Road in Boston. The site will also be the future home for the Boston Crisis Team.

The new ward will replace the outdated dormitory style accommodation on the existing Ward 12 at Pilgrim Hospital.

Members of the project team, including Experts by Experience and Occupational Therapy staff, as well as colleagues from Integrated Health Projects (IHP), who have been appointed by the Trust to undertake the building works, were in attendance.

Kevin Lockyer, trust chair, said: "Everyone involved in this project has worked so hard to get us to this important milestone and I can’t thank them enough.

“The new ward has been co-designed with our Experts by Experience, healthcare professionals and construction experts. Our new state-of-the-art facility will create a therapeutic space for those to whom we provide care.”

A time capsule was also buried near the site’s Cork Oak Tree, which holds accounts from the staff and patients of Ward 12 inside.

Alan Pattison, LPFT’s Clinical-Operational Estates Lead, added: “This is an extremely exciting milestone as we celebrate the laying of the first bricks, which really help us visualize what an amazing space it is going to be for the community.

“The burying of the time capsule is also very special as we will always have a keepsake of how important this building will be.”

For more information, visit the ‘Transforming acute inpatient mental health wards’ page on the LPFT website.