On Wednesday (28 August), we had the pleasure of welcoming Claire Murdoch CBE, National Mental Health Director for NHS England to Whalley to officially open our Woodview unit.
Chris Oliver, Chief Executive opened the event discussing the history of Whalley and how it has evolved over the years and talked about what the future holds for the eighth largest NHS site in the UK.
Woodview offers an ideal therapeutic countryside environment to assist in the treatment and recovery of those who require enhanced mental health support and includes a 32-bed male, female and male psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU).
Claire spoke about her career as a mental health nurse and the importance of allowing our service users to come and receive treatment much closer to home.
Over 40 NHS colleagues attended the opening, including Debbie Wardleworth, Associate Director of Learning Disabilities and Autism for the ICB, Maya Ellis, MP for Ribble Valley and our Chairman, David Fillingham.
A special plaque was created to honour the opening.
Everyone had the opportunity to have a tour of the unit and meet our colleagues from the wards.
We look forward to the continuing development of the site and the possibilities of what we can offer, in conjunction with other health and care partners, as well as the local community.
