Plans to build a new mental health hospital in Warneford Park, at the site of the existing hospital, are progressing after partners signed documentation agreeing on redevelopment plans. The vision is a collaboration between The Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, the University of Oxford, and philanthropist Ian Laing.
A hospital has existed on the Headington site for over two hundred years, and mainly provides mental health services today. The new plans present a refurbished and modern hospital that will provide healthcare targeted towards mental health, alongside a new separate centre for brain-related research and a new postgraduate medical college.
Grant Macdonald, Oxford Mental Health Foundation Trust Chief Executive, said in a press release: “Warneford Park will help us deliver this aspiration alongside an outstanding facility that will foster the development of world-class healthcare, research and innovation and education. This will be an attractive place to work and deliver excellent services for our patients. In addition, it will offer study at a world class university, accelerated leading edge and impactful research, and the preservation of our historic buildings and landscapes.”
Oxford University Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey said: “While there is still much to be done, we are keen to make this important project a reality so that our researchers and clinicians can translate scientific discovery – from better understanding brain illnesses, including mental health, to finding the most effective treatments – into benefits for patients, their families and communities, as quickly as possible.”
