Priory Hospital Norwich provides care for males and females aged 18 years and over who have an acute mental health illness and require timely intervention for assessment and treatment, in order to alleviate symptoms, allowing them to return home as soon as possible. The service helps to meet the increasing demand for acute hospital beds across Norfolk.

Norwich Hospital benefits from its close proximity to the City of Norwich and the local town centre of Attleborough. The site has easy access to occupational and leisure activities in the nearby countryside and coastal area, and is set in secluded, tranquil grounds for patients to relax and recover.

Adult Acute Service overview

• Redwood Ward is a specialist 12-bedded unit for females aged 18 years and above
• Redwood Ward also offers an additional 12 beds for females in a separate unit
• Woodlands Ward is our 10-bedded male service

All our patients are supported with acute, complex mental illness using a therapeutic approach. The wards provide a safe and secure environment for people experiencing a deterioration in their mental health which requires an admission to hospital for treatment and stabilisation.

Our services are designed to accept NHS overspill emergency admissions any time of the day or night. This allows us to respond rapidly in times of crisis, for those with the highest levels of acuity.

Our approach

• 24/7 care means referral decisions can be made within 30 minutes, with admission agreed within an hour
• Complete a desktop risk assessment on receipt of the referral information
• Work with referring community teams to identify purpose of admission and discharge planning
• Assess, manage, stabilise and treat an individual with an acute period of mental illness
• Provide regular clinical updates along with guidance on future placements

Discharge planning

There is a focus on discharge planning from the point of admission. Priory works closely with referring Trusts to achieve minimum lengths of stay, and are able to provide an extension to NHS care pathways during times of fluctuating demand.

We work with discharge teams to ensure a smooth transition back into the existing community services, or to an individual’s home where possible. Meetings are held with discharge co-ordinators to ensure clear action plans and continuity of care.

Our multidisciplinary team

Our teams support people in crisis to regain mental wellbeing in order for patients to return to their homes and families. Recovery-focused, patient-centred individualised care is at the heart of our treatment programmes. The teams incorporate the following:

• Consultant psychiatrist
• Associate specialist
• Nursing and Health care assistants
• Occupational therapy and therapy assistants
• Integration with community services

The team work collaboratively with patients and their families to ensure the delivery of bespoke packages of care in line with individually identified outcomes. Our skilled multidisciplinary teams have many years’ experience safely managing complex patients in an acute phase of mental illness, often with behaviours that challenge.

Admission criteria

• The primary reason for hospital admission is acute mental illness
• Patients with mild learning disabilities can be considered
• The ward is able to take patients detained under the Mental Health Act, with access to IMHA
• Acute care as part of a pathway to enable the patient to achieve maximum independence in the medium term

The environment

We believe that the environment in which an individual is treated is just as important as the treatment itself. Our hospital is set on a 13 acre site of which there are extensive gardens which can be utilised. Patients have access to the following:

• Therapy and activities space
• Activities of Daily Living (ADL) kitchen
• Open access to comfortable communal areas
• A spacious garden – in addition to the hospital grounds
• En-suite shower rooms