Mersey Care is forging ahead with plans to create a modern state of the art adult mental health facility on land at Mossley Hill which the Trust owns.
Services that are substantively based at Broadoak Unit or Windsor House will be moving to the new unit next year. This includes teams working in administrative and clerical, bed management, café, cash office, inpatient services, physical health and urgent care services currently based at Broadoak, Facilities Management and also our spiritual and pastoral care services.
In August 2022, the Treasury and Department of Health and Social Care approved the business case for this exciting new development which paves the way for the end of dormitory wards in the city.
A competitive tendering process took place led by Liverpool and Sefton Health Partnership (LSHP) who are overseeing the build saw the construction firm Graham were chosen as the build partner. Architects Gilling Dod have worked with service users, staff, carers and stakeholders to create the modern, airy designs for the facility.
A project team led by senior nursing leads from the division meets regularly and is chaired by Rob Collins, our Chief Finance Officer.
Trish Bennett visited at the end of July and you can see highlights of her tour (as well as a CGI fly through) in the videos section below.
Rob Collins toured the site in September with NHS England's Director of Estates and Facilities and saw the mock up bedrooms going in. Those rooms have now been stress tested and adjustments are being made.
The choice to retain the Mossley Hill name follows extensive stakeholder and local engagement and the new ward names were selected by staff and have strong local historical links:
- Braddock Ward, after the local politician and social reformer Bessie Braddock
- Wilkinson Ward, after the local public health pioneer Kitty Wilkinson
- Archer Ward, after locally born John Archer who became the UK's first black mayor
- Roscoe Ward, after the local anti-slavery campaigner William Roscoe.
At the steering group on 21 November, the team were reminded there are 133 working days to go until the build is complete (or 'last Christmas at Broadoak!' as the meeting heard!). See the panel on the right for more details of the final festive season in our current settings.
In order to make the move as smooth as possible, we've learned from other recent Trust site builds. Colleagues have a visit to GM Mental Health Trust this month to see their new facilities. We have OE support and teams coming over from our existing sites to view the construction work. We're aware of questions about transport, access and lighting as well as desk space planning.
Click the links below to learn more and see the latest asks of staff in preparation for the move.
Staff who have visited the site from the division have said how spacious and airy it feels compared to some of their current workplaces.
It has:
- 80 beds
- Four single sex wards
- A large free car park with 180 parking bays and more than 20 vehicle charging bays
- Will open mid 2025
- Cafe, gardens and open spaces
- Separate staff rest areas and lockers
- Agile working for staff as well as offices with single and multiple desks
- Bookable spaces for meetings and training
Questions |
Answers |
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Where is Mossley Hill mental health unit?
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The new unit is being built on the grounds of the former Mossley Hill hospital site. This is in the Mossley Hill suburb in the south of Liverpool. The new name was chosen in a public and stakeholder engagement exercise. Address: Mossley Hill Adult Mental Health Unit Park Avenue Liverpool L18 8BU what3words.com: going.silk.arts – is the site entrance on Park Avenue. |
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Which teams/services will be based at Mossley Hill?
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Services that are substantively based at Broadoak Unit or Windsor House will be transitioning to the new unit at Mossley Hill. This includes teams working in administrative and clerical, bed management, café, cash office, inpatient services, physical health and urgent care services currently based at Broadoak, Facilities Management, spiritual and pastoral care services. |
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When will Mossley Hill unit open?
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The build is on schedule to be completed and handed over from the contractor GRAHAMS to the Trust in approximately May 2025 (known as ‘Practical Completion’.) Following Practical Completion there will be a 3x month hand over period of checking of the site works (known as ‘snagging’), during which time there will be visits to the new site for staff to complete local induction and site-specific training prior to the relocation. The project team will work closely with clinical teams to support smooth transition. |
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How can staff and patients get there via public transport? |
Timetables and routes from home to destination are available online. Public transport journey planners – Mossley Hill train station on Rose Lane is 0.6 miles/average 13 minute walk via Palmerston Road L18. 4, 4A nearest bus stop is outside the main site entrance on Park Avenue (stop S43184A to Liverpool ONE Bus Station) 68, 68A nearest bus stop is at the junction of Aigburth Vale and Park Avenue (stop S43074A to Bootle, Anfield, Tuebrook) 60, 61 61A, 61B, 68, 68A, 80, 80A, 86, 86A to Rose Lane |
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Will there be bookable rooms? (e.g. for 1-1 supervisions) |
Yes, there will be bookable space available. |
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Will I still have an office / desk in the new building?
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There will be agile working at Mossley Hill. There are a number of offices, with either single or multiple desks, that are assigned to specific teams and are located both on and off ward as well as agile desks in open plan areas on the first floor. The plans have been agreed and are available to view, if you are unclear please speak to your line manager. There will also be bookable space for meetings/training etc. |
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Which staff will serve food to patients?
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Serving of meals will continue to be the responsibility of the FMA teams and will not be the responsibility of the clinical team. Staff will be supported with local site-specific induction and role-specific training at Mossley Hill, prior to the relocation of service users. |
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How many car parking spaces are there?
Is car parking free?
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Yes, there will be free car parking available for use by staff, patients and visitors. There are 180 parking bays, which includes
Plus:
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Will there be therapeutic outdoor spaces for patients? |
Yes, there are a number of accessible spaces for the inpatient wards and across the building that will be available for both staff, service users and visitors. |
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Where is the nearest shop in walking distance for items that patients commonly prefer to purchase?
(e.g. sweets, drinks)
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0.4 miles/approx. nine minute walk with good pavements to local café and convenience shop, including Post Office at the junction of Aigburth Vale and Elmswood Road. 0.7 miles/approx. 14 minutes walk to kiosk in Sefton Park. 0.7 miles/approx. 14 minutes walk to various supermarkets, shops, cafes, and restaurants on Rose Lane (shortest walking route is via Palmerston Road) There nearest supermarkets with cash point facilities are at Mather Avenue (0.9 miles/approx. 20 min walk) Smithdown Road (1 mile/approx. 22 min walk) |
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Which wards on the floor plans will be assigned to current wards moving in?
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Further information will be communicated in due course regarding transition of current wards from Broadoak Unit and Windsor House into the new wards at Mossley Hill. The four new wards were named via a stakeholder engagement workshop with staff and service user representatives:
Find out more in the attached poster. There are 80 beds in total, 20 bedrooms with en-suite facilities on each of the four wards. All wards in the new Mossley Hill site will be single sex. |
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Will there be clear signage from the car park to the main entrance and pedestrian crossings? |
Yes, there is a work package in the building construction relating to signage and road markings. |
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Will there be a discrete entrance/exit for patients being transferred between sites? |
Yes, there is a discrete entrance with electronic gated access for vehicles only that is located to the right of the building. This entrance can support access and egress as required. Therfe will be the accessible entrance for the urgent care/136 service.
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Can staff personal items be taken to Mossley Hill / kept on desks or windowsills? |
The building will be for agile working and therefore any staff personal items should be taken home at the end of the day and remain the personal responsibility of the owner. There will be some lockers located in staff rest areas throughout the building. |
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Are there designated staff rest areas and kitchen facilities? |
Yes – throughout the building there are staff rest areas, breakout areas and kitchen facilities. |
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What are the plans for smokers and the rights of non-smokers?
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Staff and service users will continue to be supported in line with Trust policies.
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How will Trust items be moved from Broadoak or Windsor to Mossley Hill? |
A Trust approved removals firm will be procured by the Estates to relocate sealed removal crates and Trust equipment. The project team will work closely with TWSS and clinical teams to support smooth transition. |
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What information is being shared? |
We provide regular updates in the staff newsletter, staff Facebook and on our social media accounts. There is a public webpage on the Trust’s external website. A community newsletter is distributed locally every few months: this contains the same information as we share with staff, but with a focus on residents’ issues. A general stakeholder newsletter is issued each month by the Trust which has updates of the site as well. |
| Update to all Recruiting Managers and interview panels for vacancies at Broadoak Unit or Windsor House |
Please liaise with Recruitment team to make sure that with immediate effect throughout the recruitment process, it is noted that the postholder is expected to transition to Mossley Hill during 2025. Please note that although the initial work base / location will be on our Broadoak or Windsor House sites, there will be an expectation on the relocating of the services to Mossley Hill that the staff base / location will change at that time. Any offers of employment are made on this basis. |
Practical steps for staff working at Broadoak and Windsor to get move ready for the relocation to Mossley Hill:
- Add Mossley Hill/Liverpool 2 project as a standing item in team meetings to share and discuss the regular updates from this page
- Speak with your line manager to make appropriate arrangements for removing any accumulated clutter (business as usual):
- Liaise with records@merseycare.nhs.uk for IG compliant archive of any documentation that may be found when clearing out desks and cupboards,
- Liaise with the estates helpdesk (in discussion with budget holder) for appropriate removal of bulky clutter.
- Follow this link to the Estates page, select “REQUEST A TASK ORDER” from the menu on left-hand side (no login required) or call the estates helpdesk on 0151 295 3101 to discuss.
Actions for team meetings:
- Teams to identify and review any existing literature used with patients (e.g. patient leaflets, referral forms etc) and propose changes to update materials in readiness for use at Mossley Hill.
- Teams to consider if any specific literature is required regarding the transfer of services/patients from Broadoak Unit and Windsor House into Mossley Hill.
- Teams to link in with John Rowbotham (Communications Manager) to lead on final versions of any letters, handouts, leaflets etc to ensure compliance with NHS and Trust branding etc.
- Teams to identify Mossley Hill champions for the Liverpool 2 project and agree 2-3 people for their areas to support the development of a champion network for Mossley Hill.
- These staff must be available to be released as required to support move readiness, to attend extended local inductions and training events at the new Mossley Hill site during 2025, and be able to support the roll out of site induction/training to other staff transitioning to Mossley Hill.
- For more information, please contact Chantal Lee (Liverpool Place Project Manager) Chantal.Lee2@merseycare.nhs.uk / 07467 337 227 or Becky Shaw (Business Change Manager) Rebekah.Shaw@merseycare.nhs.uk
Recruitment
Please liaise with the Recruitment team to make sure that it is noted that new postholders are expected to transition to Mossley Hill during 2025.
Although the initial work base will be on our Broadoak or Windsor House sites, the staff base will change to Mossley Hill. Any offers of employment are made on this basis.
A full Travel Plan was commissioned by the trust before the build began as we were aware of colleagues currently at Windsor and Broak Oak who don't use cars. Outcomes showed the new site is well served by public transport but lighting levels should be improved. An updated paper has been issued and staff side have recorded their thanks for this.
The nearest train station is Mossley Hill station on Rose Lane, which is about 0.6 miles (about a 13 minute walk) away along Palmerston Road. There are several bus stops close to the site including the 4 and 4A which stop at the entrance.
The trees have been cut back to improve the lighting and there will be additional lighting to what is there presently, along the perimeter of the site, and from the site itself.
Timetables and routes from home to destination are available online.
Public transport journey planners:
4, 4A nearest bus stop is outside the main site entrance on Park Avenue (stop S43184A to Liverpool ONE Bus Station)
68, 68A nearest bus stop is at the junction of Aigburth Vale and Park Avenue (stop S43074A to Bootle, Anfield, Tuebrook)
60, 61 61A, 61B, 68, 68A, 80, 80A, 86, 86A to Rose Lane
Further details will be posted on these pages in the future.
The nearest shops are less than half a mile away (9 minute walk with good pavements) for a cafe, convenience shop and Post Office at the junction of Aigburth Vale and Elmswood Road. The kiosk in Sefton Park is 14 minutes away.
Latest updates
Reminder: Minimal property is kept on site. (Below passage is taken from Mental Health Care division’s LOC004 Patient Property Policy - 3.6 Volume Control)
There is limited storage available for service users to store their property, therefore the amount of property they can have with them at any one time should be limited to what will fit in the storage provided.
Additional property that cannot be stored must be sent home with family or friends. Service users with a significant volume of property or large items that cannot be taken by family or friends then an external storage facility will need to identified, the cost of which will be the service users responsibility.”
Last Christmas at Broadoak and Windsor House
Colleagues in Mental Health Division are marking their final Christmas in their current bases ahead of the move into Mossley Hill in 2025. Lisa Campbell, PA to Toni Manley and Tonia Smith, has been co-ordinating collections for a local food bank. Lisa says: “Thank you to everyone who’s brought in items like dried food, tins, cereal, pasta and toiletries.” Head of Operations Toni Manley adds: “This is a great effort from the team: well done everyone!”
And it's a Merry Christmas from our very own ‘Elf Secretary at Broadoak Karen Murray (pictured above.) Karen is one of our Mossley Hill Champions.