Plans for a £9 million redevelopment scheme to improve mental health services for children across the Midlands have been revealed.
The cash will be spent on a major upgrade of Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s Parkview Clinic.
The Moseley centre is the biggest mental health inpatient facility for youngsters in the West Midlands.
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The improvement will signal the end of shared bedrooms, allowing patients aged five to 18 more privacy with 44 single rooms with ensuite facilities.
A bright and colourful kitchen, dining area, treatment room, group rooms, music room, fitness room, parent’s room and education area will also be created, along with reshaped outside space. Staff, patients and families helped design the new facility and preliminary work will begin early next year, delivered in phases over three years.
More social spaces will be created, doing away with narrow corridors and introducing more natural light.
Hospital chief executive Sarah-Jane Marsh said: “I’m delighted to be able to unveil our exciting new plans for our child and adolescent mental health service at Parkview. Our existing facilities have become out-dated, and we are currently only able to offer shared bedrooms, which is not acceptable as young people need their privacy.
“This significant investment is a huge opportunity for our patients, families and staff as it will transform our facilities to the standard of the excellent care that we are proud to deliver every day.”
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The clinic’s work to help children with eating disorders was made public earlier this year.
It emerged that admissions of those with food-related issues to Parkview had increased from seven in 2009/10 to 21 in 2011/12.
The clinic has a 100 per cent success rate in helping children return to a healthy weight.