WORK on a new state-of-the-art mental health facility at a Bromsgrove community hospital is well underway.

The Brook Haven unit at the Princess of Wales Community Hospital, off Stourbridge Road, is currently being refurbished and extended, and it is hoped work with be completed in the summer.

Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust plans to turn Brook Haven into a modern and environmentally friendly facility, radically changing the way patients receive care and support.

The facility cares for older adults, from across Worcestershire, with mental health issues including dementia, Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia, who can’t be supported in their own homes.

The work, being carried out by Kier Construction Central, is designed to turn the unit into a centre of excellence.

It will feature 30 en-suite bedrooms, large courtyards, an allotment, workshops, a 1960s-themed launderette and a conference room that can easily be converted into a cinema.

Themed rooms are included as evidence suggests they can provide the mental stimulus to help people with dementia and related issues.

The aim is every patient cared for, however long their stay, is supported by a wide range of skilled professionals, including nurses, psychologists and physiotherapists.

The patient should then be able to receive long term care, in their own homes.

Sarah Dugan, the trust’s chief executive, said: “The shell of the building is now beginning to resemble what we know will be a purpose-built, state-of-the-art specialist mental health unit.

“The stigma around mental health units will be well and truly dispelled here.

"The building will be much more than a base for delivering services as every room has been designed to play an important role in the care and support that will be provided to patients.

“This really will be a huge step forward for mental health services in the county.”