New £45m mental health facility opens to patients

A new £45 million mental health unit which aims to transform inpatient care in Surrey has officially opened.

The new Silverwood mental health facility in St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey opened on Monday with 64 new en suite bedrooms.

The facility, which includes four adult mental health wards, replaces the previous Abraham Cowley Unit, which was demolished in 2022.

The site will include a music room, art room and sensory room as well as sports facilities and gardens.

Graham Wareham, chief executive of Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, says the space will be a "safe, spacious and therapeutic environment".

He added: "The input we've received from people who have used mental health services has been invaluable in helping us to offer an environment and facilities which will truly meet the needs of people using the service."

The trust added the new site will cut the use of private mental health beds which can see patients travelling far from their homes for treatment.

Construction work on the building, which also has access to a woodland walk, began in November 2022 and was completed in September 2024.

Patients will move into Silverwood from private beds in the coming weeks and an official opening ceremony will take place later this year.

Wendy Smith, of the Surrey Coalition of Disabled People said: "It has been incredibly rewarding to see the ideas and feedback from people with lived experience come to life in the design of the building.

"I'm proud to know that this new space will provide comfort and hope and promote recovery for many adults for years to come."

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