Male mental health facility opens in Derby
Kingfisher House is part of the trust's £150m Making Room for Dignity programme.This is designed to replace outdated facilities and bring the area's six main mental health hubs up to national standards.
Care closer to home
According to the trust, prior to the opening of Kingfisher House, those who needed the level of support offered by a PICU had to travel outside of Derbyshire to access an appropriate bed.Mr Powell said: "Until now, Derbyshire was one of the only regions in England without a local psychiatric intensive care unit."This meant that men in acute mental health crisis requiring intensive care had to be placed in facilities outside the county – often far from their families and support networks."This not only disrupted continuity of care but also added emotional and logistical strain on service users and their loved ones. Kingfisher House directly addresses this gap, enabling people to receive the right care, closer to home."Alongside Kingfisher House, the programme's other two new builds are the Carsington Unit, 54-bed unit at Kingsway Hospital and the Derwent Unit, a 54-bed unit at the Chesterfield Royal Hospital site, which both opened earlier this year.Other parts of the project involve Bluebell Ward at Walton Hospital in Chesterfield for older adults with acute mental health needs, which opened on 7 January 2025, the Radbourne Unit, at the Royal Derby Hospital and Audrey House, an enhanced care unit for female patients at Kingsway in Derby.
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BBC News
26 minutes ago
- BBC News
I've stopped life-saving medication says man exhausted by fight for NHS care
Tim Hull can point to many achievements during his 56 years. He's run his own handyman business and housed Ukrainian refugees for two years. He's even been in the Guinness Book of Records: at nearly 7ft in height, he and his brother were the UK's tallest twins for almost two it is a life Tim has decided to end. His quality of life, he says, is "very, very low". Tim has a medical condition - unrelated to his height - that weakens his muscles, and his health has declined rapidly over the past two is the battles to get the health and care support he needs which have driven him to make the desperate decision, says Tim. He feels abandoned by health professionals, has been moved from one waiting list to another, has not been provided with the right equipment to help him and has been bed-bound for nearly seven months. In February, he stopped taking the medication that prevents his kidneys from failing. They are now beginning to give up and he knows he has months, if not weeks, to live."I don't feel that things are going to get any better than this," he tells BBC News. "I just feel [ending my life] would be a better option than lying in bed 24 hours a day."Tim's neurological condition is rare, however, many of the difficulties he has faced feel familiar to the past two years, BBC News has been contacted by the families of more than 250 people with serious disabilities or illnesses about their struggles to access health and care services. Many described the impact of very long waits for assessments, appointments, and for vital equipment that can help them cope at home. They also highlighted the frustrations of trying to get someone to signpost the right services, being passed from department to department, and the feeling that they were only listened to when they reached a crisis. For some there were also lengthy arguments over whether their care should be paid for by the NHS or local councils. Tim, who lives on his own in Worcester, first went to his GP in 2022 because he started stumbling while was referred to a rheumatologist. He waited a year for the appointment only to be told it was the wrong then waited several months to see a local neurologist, then several more months to see a more senior neurologist in Birmingham. In the two years this took, he lost the ability to walk and had to use a was eventually diagnosed with a rare neurological condition, Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), which causes spasms and muscle weakness. Pain, fatigue and depression are also common is incurable, but according to the NHS website, it does not usually affect life expectancy. There are more than 80 variants, but Tim says he has yet to be told which he has. Physiotherapy and drugs are generally used to manage the symptoms, but Tim felt after being diagnosed he was just expected to "get on with it".In 2024, he spent two months in hospital. While there, regular physio helped him regain some mobility, but after he was discharged there was no ongoing support. His case was referred back to Worcester and its neurology therapy received a letter dated 10 July 2024 welcoming him and saying he was on the waiting list for an assessment. Despite chasing for an appointment, he says he heard nothing. A year later, on 15 July 2025, he got another almost identical letter. It says welcome, you are on a waiting list. This time it included an information leaflet. When Tim has asked his GP for help, he says he has often been told his case is too specialist and he should call height has added to his difficulties. 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Nobody cares."Authorities responsible for Tim's care say they cannot comment on individual cases but that they regularly review how care is delivered to meet each person's "unique needs".Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust says that "where equipment, home adaptations or community nursing support are required, we aim to have these in place [before discharge] to ensure a safe, well supported transition from hospital to home". Tim has a separate, hereditary kidney condition, called polycystic kidney disease. His twin Andy, their father Alan and sister Sue were also born with the years ago, Tim had a kidney transplant from his older brother, Richard. Tim's twice-daily tablets are supposed to stop the kidney from them Tim knows he has months, if not weeks, left to live. He feels he has little choice but to stop taking the a retired children's social worker, says she is devastated by Tim's decision."He doesn't need to be lying here dying. 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Times
3 hours ago
- Times
BMA in new row as thousands of junior doctors cannot get NHS jobs
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Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
NHS trusts budget nearly £2million for 'woke' staff events including 'International Pronouns Day' and talks on 'embracing your Afro hair' and 'breaking the rainbow ceiling'
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