MP officially opens upgraded facilities

Rochdale's MP Paul Rowen officially opened the newly upgraded facilities at Birch Hill Hospital, which he described as "a first rate service for our borough." Birch Hill Hospital provides inpatient mental health services for adults and older people and outpatient services for service users of all ages, which has had a £7million upgrade over the last 18 months.

Paul Rowen MP said: "The improvements that have been made to Birch Hill are simply outstanding and are clear for everyone to see. I had visited the hospital before the investment and the transformation is incredible. This facility will provide a real improvement to people's care and will help to meet the needs of people within our borough.

"Although we have these magnificent new facilities for the people of Rochdale, whilst talking to the staff at Birch Hill Hospital, they made it clear that there are some much needed improvements to be made to our Mental Health service. For example, I was informed that many of our 16, 17 year olds patients are still being treated alongside adult patients, which is simply not on. As the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Disabilities I will be doing all I can to improve our Mental Health service and I will certainly be mentioning the issues raised to the Primary Care Trust when we next meet.

"It was an absolute pleasure to open this redeveloped facility and I know it will make a real difference to many people's lives across our borough. I enjoyed meeting the health professionals and all the staff at Birch Field Hospital alongside local councillor Jean Ashworth."