A hospital ward which was closed for refurbishments almost two years is finally accepting patients again.
However, it is still expected to be some time before Rollesby ward at Hellesdon Hospital is operating at full capacity.
The psychiatric intensive care unit at the hospital closed down for maintenance in March 2021 following an incident which caused "significant damage" to the facility.
The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, then spent £450,000 on refurbishing and repairing the ward.
But a series of complications have seen its re-opening delayed several times, with the trust facing regular questions over this.
These included struggles sourcing building materials for the refurbishment, difficulties recruiting staff to run it and processes related to a controversial plan to repurpose it as a female-only facility.
Now though, a phased re-opening has begun, with Rollesby accepting patients again for the first time in two years.
The ward is currently operating at a limited capacity, providing care for three women at a time.
Once it is fully re-opened, it will have a bed capacity of 10, while also offering further mental health support for women.
Stuart Richardson, chief executive of NSFT, said: "Our investment in Rollesby Ward is part of our commitment to improving the quality of specialist mental health care we provide to one of our most vulnerable patient groups.
"Re-opening the ward, a same-sex psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) for women, marks another step forward in our improvement journey and follows the CQC’s latest inspection report which awarded us an overall improved rating.
"As a Trust, we continue to relentlessly focus on improving quality, safety and the experiences of people who use our services as well as our staff.”
The refurbishment included adding a new sensory room, a revamped clinical area and a modernised visiting area for families.
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