Adult Inpatient Redesign Project

Inpatient care is for people who need intensive support to keep them safe and well. This may be because they are experiencing a mental health crisis, need round-the-clock monitoring, or require specialist assessment and treatment that cannot be provided at home. Inpatient wards offer a safe environment, 24/7 nursing and medical care, therapeutic activities, structured support and space for people to stabilise, recover and plan their next steps. 

The programme covers the Trust’s adult mental health inpatient services currently provided across nine units in Hull. Each supports people based on the severity of their needs, the type of condition they have, or their age or gender. These teams provide excellent care every day, but the buildings themselves are ageing and increasingly unable to offer the modern, therapeutic environments people need and deserve. 

The long-term proposal is to bring these services together on one coordinated site made up of purpose-built facilities. The programme would be delivered in phases, rather than through one single construction project. Not all services are proposed to move. Our consultation will seek views on which services it is appropriate to relocate to the new site before final decisions are taken. 

Over the lifetime of the programme, a number of funding options have been explored. These included opportunities to secure national NHS capital funding to deliver the redevelopment as a single programme. As national funding priorities changed, the Trust developed a phased approach, using its own capital funding to deliver one new unit at a time while continuing to seek additional funding to accelerate future phases. You can read more about how this approach has developed in the timeline below. 

The Trust considered a number of potential options before identifying its Willerby site as the preferred location, subject to planning approval. This followed a detailed options appraisal, informed by clinical, operational and estate considerations, together with engagement with patients, carers, staff and stakeholders.

Better environments for recovery 

A new site allows us to design wards around modern mental health standards including more natural light, private en‑suite rooms, calming spaces, dedicated therapy and activity areas and secure outdoor environments. These features support dignity, comfort and recovery in ways our older buildings simply cannot. 

Stronger staffing and safer care 

Bringing all our inpatient services together on one purpose‑built site could mean we can create a stronger, more stable workforce. Staff will be able to work side‑by‑side, support each other more easily, and access senior clinicians quickly when they need guidance. It could also reduce the need for temporary staff, because larger teams in a modern environment are easier to recruit to and retain.  

More consistent and coordinated care 

When care is provided across different locations, it can sometimes feel disconnected, with people needing to repeat information or navigate between teams. Bringing services together in one place helps professionals work more closely, share knowledge and coordinate support more effectively. This means people can experience a smoother journey through care, with better communication, quicker responses when needs change and a more joined-up approach to treatment and support. 

Better access for families and carers 

Currently, inpatient units are spread across different locations, which can make them difficult to reach and navigate. As plans for the new site develop, travel, public transport, parking and accessibility will be carefully considered throughout the planning process, equality assessment and public consultation. Our aim is to create a site that is as accessible as possible for patients, families, carers and staff, with dedicated parking and opportunities to improve access by public transport where possible. 

A sustainable future for inpatient services 

Maintaining several ageing buildings is costly and inefficient. A single modern site allows us to invest in one high‑quality group of facilities that is safer, more efficient and designed to meet rising demand for years to come. 

How we've worked with patients, staff and partners

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Creating new inpatient mental health facilities is a long-term project. Before anything can be built, there are lots of steps to work through, including developing plans, securing funding and getting the necessary approvals. This takes time, but each stage helps make sure the facilities will meet the needs of patients, carers, staff and local communities. 

Since 2022, we have engaged with more than 150 stakeholder groups, including patients, carers, families, staff, community organisations, Healthwatch, local authorities, NHS partners and voluntary sector organisations. What people told us has directly influenced the programme, helping to shape the case for change, develop and refine future options, and inform how those options have been assessed. 

Existing inpatient services will continue to operate throughout the planning and construction period. Any moves would be carefully planned to protect patient safety, maintain continuity of care and minimise disruption for patients, carers and staff. 

The timeline below shows the key milestones so far and the next steps ahead. It highlights how the project has developed over time and how people who use, support and deliver services have been involved throughout. 

What have we done so far?  

Timeline

2021 – A vision for modern mental health inpatient care 

The Adult Inpatient Redesign Project was launched to transform adult mental health inpatient services across Hull and the East Riding. The ambition was to replace ageing inpatient facilities with modern, therapeutic environments designed around recovery, safety and dignity. 

Work began on developing the Strategic Outline Case, setting out the need for change and establishing the long-term vision for future adult inpatient services. This demonstrated to NHS England, who it was hoped would provide funding for the project, why investment was needed and enabled the project to move into the next stage of development. 

2022–2023 – Developing the vision 

Work progressed on the Pre-Consultation Business Case (PCBC), developing the clinical case for change and exploring how adult inpatient services could be redesigned to better meet the needs of patients, carers and staff. 

Between December 2022 and May 2023, we carried out one of the Trust's largest engagement programmes, holding 98 engagement activities involving more than 150 stakeholder groups. This was followed by further targeted engagement with people with lived experience during 2023 to strengthen their contribution to the option appraisal process. 

As part of this work, a detailed options appraisal explored  several potential locations for the redevelopment. This process identified Willerby as the preferred site, offering the best opportunity to deliver the Trust's long-term vision for modern, therapeutic inpatient facilities while supporting the future sustainability of services. 

The completed Pre-Consultation Business Case was submitted to NHS England. Although there was a strong strategic and clinical case for change, national capital funding was not available to enable the project to progress through its original delivery route. 

2024–2025 – National priorities change 

Following the General Election in 2024, the new Government reviewed NHS capital investment programmes and reprioritised major estate projects. At the same time, continued pressure on NHS capital funding meant many large-scale redevelopment schemes were reassessed, with revised funding arrangements and longer delivery timescales. 

This meant the Adult Inpatient Redesign Project could not progress through the original route for a single, large-scale capital investment. Although the need to modernise our inpatient facilities remained unchanged, the Trust developed an alternative approach to continue delivering its long-term vision. 

2025–2026 – A new approach 

While we will continue to seek national and external funding opportunities, we do not want to delay improvements to our inpatient environments. We have been able to identify our own capital funding, so that we can deliver the redevelopment in phases, improving one building at a time as funding becomes available. This enables us to make progress towards our long-term vision while remaining ready to accelerate delivery should additional funding be secured. 

With a clear funding route in place, work has resumed on the Adult Inpatient Redesign Project. The Pre-Consultation Business Case (PCBC) is now progressing through the NHS's formal service change process, ensuring that any proposed changes to inpatient services are supported by robust evidence, engagement and assurance. 

Although redevelopment will be delivered one building at a time, planning continues for the entire site to ensure each phase contributes to the overall vision. Patients, carers and clinicians are helping to co-design the individual inpatient units, shaping both the building itself and how services will operate within it. Work is also underway to appoint a contractor to carry out the enabling works needed to prepare the site for future development. 

Early 2026 – Local Authority Scrutiny  

As part of the NHS's formal service change process, the Trust presented the project to both Hull City Council's and East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees. These meetings provided an opportunity to update elected members on the proposed redevelopment, explain the revised phased approach and outline the next stages of engagement. 

Both committees recognised the need to modernise adult mental health inpatient facilities and welcomed the Trust's commitment to continuing engagement as the programme progresses. 

Summer 2026 – Planning consultation 

The next milestone is a public consultation on the proposed masterplan for the whole Willerby site. Although the redevelopment will be delivered in phases, planning approval is required for the overall site to ensure that each new building forms part of a coordinated long-term vision. Feedback from the planning consultation will help inform the planning application before it is submitted to the local planning authority. 

The public planning consultation event will be held on Monday 24th August 2026.

A planning application will be submitted in November 2026. This will seek approval for phase one of the project in detail, and outline planning permission for subsequent phases.

You will be able to make comments at the event itself or online, so these can be considered before the planning application is submitted. Comments need to be made by 13 September 2026 and can be submitted by completing the questionnaire.    

Paper copies of the survey can be sent out on request by emailing WSP. Contact Katie Forbes at Katie.Forbes@wsp.com or 0161 6028419.

Preparing the site 

Subject to Trust Board approval, the Trust will appoint a contractor to undertake the enabling works needed to prepare the Willerby site for future redevelopment. 

These preparatory works will help ensure the site is ready to support the phased redevelopment programme and minimise delays once the necessary approvals have been secured. Appointing a contractor at this stage enables the project to maintain momentum and make the best use of available capital funding while the project continues through the NHS's formal service change process. It does not determine the outcome of the consultation or any future decisions about proposed service changes. 

2026 onwards – Continuing engagement 

As the project progresses through the next stages of the NHS's formal service change process, we will continue to engage with patients, carers, families, staff, local residents, partner organisations and the wider community. Building on the engagement already undertaken to identify the preferred site, this work will focus on the proposed service changes and how the new inpatient facilities will support the delivery of high-quality mental health care. If the proposals progress through the required NHS approvals, there will be a formal public consultation before any final decisions are made. Sign up here to be notified when these events will take place. 

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Learn more about the project by reading our Frequently Asked Questions.