West Park Hospital
Encyclopedia
West Park is a modern NHS
adult mental health
unit situated on the north-western outskirts of Darlington. It was built to replace the dated facilies at the now demolished Winterton Hospital
and the Pierremont unit at Darlington Memorial Hospital
.
The hospital is part of the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust
which also manages St Luke's Hospital, Middlesbrough
and Earls House Hospital
, Durham.
The wards at West Park all comprise of ground-floor single bedrooms. Males and females also have separate TV lounges and washroom facilities. Each ward has its own garden. The hospital provides a restaurant and shop for staff, patients and visitors and a gym for inpatients. The hospital also has a library for the staff and students, an on-site pharmacy and a multi-faith prayer room.
Psychiatric Emergencies
Patients who need to be seen urgently are often visited at home by a 'Crisis Team', based in the hospital. However some patients are seen at the Emergency Department
s of Darlington Memorial Hospital or Bishop Auckland General Hospital
.
Adult Mental Health Services
The hospital provides outpatients and day care
for adults in Darlington with mental health problems.
West Park also contains three acute
wards each serving a different catchment area of the Darlington and South Durham region.
It also contains the designated psychiatric intensive care unit
for County Durham and a low secure step-down unit for longer stay patients.
There is also a small seven-bedded pre-discharge unit for adults with long-term chronic
mental health problems who go there prior to receiving Care in the Community
.
Mental Health Services for Older People
West Park Hospital contains day care and outpatients for older people in Darlington with both functional and organic mental health problems.
The hospital includes a 24 bed elderly psychiatric ward which provides for patients with both organic and functional disorders. The ward only caters for elderly inpatients from Darlington as there are a range of other small units around the region for elderly people with mental health problems such as Auckland Park Hospital
in Bishop Auckland
.
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
adult mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
unit situated on the north-western outskirts of Darlington. It was built to replace the dated facilies at the now demolished Winterton Hospital
Winterton Hospital
Winterton Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in County Durham, England and was one of the biggest in Europe.-History:A site for the Durham County Asylum was purchased in 1855 on land between the villages of Fishburn and Sedgefield. The hospital was to be designed by the architect John Howison, the...
and the Pierremont unit at Darlington Memorial Hospital
Darlington Memorial Hospital
Darlington Memorial Hospital provides acute hospital services for the area around Darlington, South Durham and parts of North Yorkshire. Its quality of services and use of resources were rated 'excellent' by the HealthCare Commission Ratings....
.
The hospital is part of the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust
The Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust is a NHS Trust that provides mental health, learning disability and addictive behaviour services. It covers the 1.4 million people living in County Durham, the Tees Valley and North East Yorkshire. The trust's annual income is approximately...
which also manages St Luke's Hospital, Middlesbrough
St Luke's Hospital, Middlesbrough
St Luke's Hospital, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England is unique as it is a remaining example of a well intact Victorian asylum. The building now provides a range of services for adults and older people with mental health problems and learning disabilities...
and Earls House Hospital
Earls House Hospital
Earls House Hospital is a hospital located in County Durham, England, and lies on a large site just north west of Durham city. The hospital is run by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust who also run St Luke's Hospital, Middlesbrough, and West Park Hospital in Darlington. It formerly served as the...
, Durham.
The wards at West Park all comprise of ground-floor single bedrooms. Males and females also have separate TV lounges and washroom facilities. Each ward has its own garden. The hospital provides a restaurant and shop for staff, patients and visitors and a gym for inpatients. The hospital also has a library for the staff and students, an on-site pharmacy and a multi-faith prayer room.
Psychiatric Emergencies
Patients who need to be seen urgently are often visited at home by a 'Crisis Team', based in the hospital. However some patients are seen at the Emergency Department
Emergency department
An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...
s of Darlington Memorial Hospital or Bishop Auckland General Hospital
Bishop Auckland General Hospital
Bishop Auckland Hospital is a small NHS district general hospital serving the western part of County Durham, with a primarily rural catchment area centred on the Wear Valley. It was opened in 2002 and then had around 286 beds, but this number has since been cut substantially. There has been much...
.
Adult Mental Health Services
The hospital provides outpatients and day care
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
for adults in Darlington with mental health problems.
West Park also contains three acute
Acute (medicine)
In medicine, an acute disease is a disease with either or both of:# a rapid onset, as in acute infection# a short course ....
wards each serving a different catchment area of the Darlington and South Durham region.
It also contains the designated psychiatric intensive care unit
Psychiatric intensive care unit
A Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit is a type of psychiatric in-patient ward. These wards are always locked and staffing levels are higher than on a normal acute admission ward....
for County Durham and a low secure step-down unit for longer stay patients.
There is also a small seven-bedded pre-discharge unit for adults with long-term chronic
Chronic (medicine)
A chronic disease is a disease or other human health condition that is persistent or long-lasting in nature. The term chronic is usually applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months. Common chronic diseases include asthma, cancer, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.In medicine, the...
mental health problems who go there prior to receiving Care in the Community
Care in the Community
Care in the Community is the British policy of deinstitutionalization, treating and caring for physically and mentally disabled people in their homes rather than in an institution...
.
Mental Health Services for Older People
West Park Hospital contains day care and outpatients for older people in Darlington with both functional and organic mental health problems.
The hospital includes a 24 bed elderly psychiatric ward which provides for patients with both organic and functional disorders. The ward only caters for elderly inpatients from Darlington as there are a range of other small units around the region for elderly people with mental health problems such as Auckland Park Hospital
Auckland Park Hospital
Auckland Park Hospital in Bishop Auckland provides psychiatric care to the elderly. It contains two assessment wards, one functional and one organic . There is a further ward for continuing care where elderly people are cared for prior to going into a care home...
in Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...
.