On a sunny and dry Friday afternoon staff, service users, Trust Governors, local dignitaries and health and social care colleagues joined our Chair and Chief Executive in celebrating the start of construction work on our brand new mental health facility for Buckinghamshire.

This event formally marked the the building work of an 80 bedded adult and older adult inpatient unit which is due to open late next year. The development costing £42.8 million has been capitally funded by the Trust and will be a purpose built state of the art facility for the benefit of the residents of Buckinghamshire. The final design has been made possible with input from staff, service users and their carers and families and is being built in partnership with Kier Construction Major Projects.

Guests watched as the Chairman, Martin Howell, Chief Executive, Julie Waldron, Director of Nursing and Clinical Standards, Ros Alstead, Clinical Lead, Michele Harding and Stakeholder Group Member Jeanette Hocking turned the sod with specially engraved shovels. These shovels will now be donated to our adult and older adult gardening groups.

There is now a commerative book, which along with one of the shovels will be displayed in the new development once it has been completed to mark this very special day.

For more information on the development please contact Elika Saedi, Communications and Involvement Manager: elika.saedi@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk