A MAJOR step towards the creation of a £20m mental health facility was taken yesterday.
Health chiefs and developers Bussey and Armstrong exchanged contracts for the sale of land for the development at West Park, in Darlington.
The signing of the deal came on World Mental Health Day, which is aimed at raising awareness of related issues.
The Darlington facility is expected to be ready to take patients in late 2004. It will replace the Pierremont Unit, Beaumont Ward and Faverdale Day Unit at Darlington Memorial Hospital, and the Gables clinic, in Sedgefield.
County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust said: "The West Park development is something the trust has been working towards for a very long time. We think its development and the introduction of new models of care will be of great benefit to service users."
It will provide 60 adult acute in-patient rooms, 24 single rooms for older people with mental health problems, 15 complex needs rooms, ten intensive care rooms and seven recovery rooms.
To mark World Mental Health Day elsewhere in the town, Mayor Doris Jones released 200 yellow and maroon balloons outside Pease House.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article