Borrowdale Ward Refurbishment | News and Events

The new-look Borrowdale Ward was unveiled on Wednesday 18 December 2019, at an event attended by service users, staff and senior managers and executive directors of the Trust.

The £500k investment of Borrowdale has been the result of research carried out in 2018 of 200 women who spent time in secure facilities.  This research showed that women who spent time in secure services needed stability - to feel safe and secure in familiar and comfortable environments.

The other major finding was the importance of relationships within the service.  It is vital that these are protected and support as much as possible.

We believe this research was so important, we wanted to act on it.  Over the last few months, a lot of work has taken place to enable us to provide care in one place, by one team for our female service users.

The refurbishment of Borrowdale means that women needing our services are cared for in one place, within the Edenfield Centre.  They will have access to therapies which can help promote recovery such as the sports hall, Recovery Academy, a GP for medical issues and the activity centre for access to a variety of creative projects.  All bedrooms are en-suite there are quiet places such as a sensory room and multi-faith room for privacy and calmer times.

Matt Patterson, Head of Operations for Specialist Services said, “I am so pleased to see the work which has been done here at Borrowdale, especially on a personal level as this was the first ward I worked on as a qualified nurse.  I am so proud of what has been achieved – it is a massive improvement."

Neil Thwaite, Chief Executive said, “I am really delighted to be here today to see how much work has been done to enhance the environment for our service users.  There is a lot of research behind these changes which show that there will be less transitions and shorter lengths of stay for women who are being cared for here.  There are lots of members of staff to thank who have worked so hard to make this possible, but the biggest thank you has to go to our service users who have worked with us on the new design and shown great patience and enthusiasm for this project."

The average length of stay for service users within the service has been approximately two years, but under this new model of care, there have been some discharges.  Future plans include the development of a family room, so that women have somewhere to visit with their children.

L to R: Deborah Partington: Director of Operations, Neil Thwaite: Chief Executive, Kate Foster: Operational Manager, Stephen Clarke: Service Manager, Andrew Maloney: Deputy Chief Executive and Director of HR and Corporate Affairs

Neil Thwaite and Matt Patterson: Head of Operations for Secure Services and Deaf Mental Health

Members of Borrowdale and the wider Women’s Secure Blended service