Active Care Group Invests Over £2 million in New Female Mental Health Service in South London

Hampton Ward at Holybourne Hospital will provide nine psychiatric intensive care beds and create new jobs for people in the local area.

An open day was held at Hampton Ward on Tuesday, 29 September, welcoming Councillor Emmeline Owens, Mayor of Wandsworth, alongside representatives from local health and care services to tour the new facility.

It will care for women experiencing an acute mental health crisis who need a greater level of support and treatment than a general mental health ward can provide.

Addressing the Regional Bed Shortage

Hampton Ward has been developed in response to a shortage of specialist female PICU beds. Currently, women from South London may be transferred a significant distance away when a suitable local bed is unavailable. This separates them from their families and from the clinical teams already involved in their care at a particularly difficult time.

Across England, the number of mental health placements where patients were sent out of their local area for care rose by 5% between 2024 and 2025, from 5,392 to 5,649, according to the Care Quality Commission.

The new ward means Holybourne Hospital can now provide this more intensive level of care on site, avoiding an unnecessary move to another hospital in some cases.

Former office, training and clinical areas have been converted to create Hampton Ward. Active Care Group is also creating new roles, with recruitment focused on people living in South West London.

Keith Browner, Chief Executive Officer, Active Care Group, said:

“Being admitted to psychiatric intensive care is already an incredibly difficult time in someone’s life. Having to travel away from home can make that experience even harder, separating people from their families, familiar support networks and the professionals who already know their needs.

“Hampton Ward creates an important new option for women requiring this level of intensive support in South West London, while strengthening the wider pathway of care available at Holybourne Hospital.

“We have invested more than £2 million not simply in creating additional beds, but in developing Hampton Ward around trauma-informed principles, with high-quality facilities, innovative technology and access to therapeutic care that supports women towards recovery.

“The investment has also created new jobs in the local area to support the opening of Hampton Ward.”

Trauma-Informed Design and Therapeutic Care

The ward has nine private en-suite bedrooms, therapy rooms and shared spaces, thoughtfully designed so the environment can be adapted to women’s individual sensory and therapeutic needs. This includes quieter, lower-stimulus spaces when greater privacy or support is needed.

Bedrooms are equipped with dimmable, colour-changing lighting, allowing patients to adjust the brightness and colour tones to promote relaxation and support sensory regulation. Individual televisions and ceiling-mounted speakers provide further options for entertainment and therapeutic activities, including music therapy.

Patients will have access to a seven-day therapeutic programme alongside their psychiatric and nursing care. Sessions will help women develop coping skills, understand emotions and prepare for recovery and discharge.

Art, music, dance and movement therapy will also form part of the programme, alongside physical activity and supported leisure. The timetable can be adapted to each patient’s needs and readiness to participate, allowing them to engage at their own pace.

Dr Amit Chatterjee, Chief Medical Officer at Active Care Group, said:

“When somebody comes into a psychiatric intensive care ward, they may be experiencing one of the most acute and vulnerable periods of their life. Providing the right clinical care is essential, but the environment in which that care takes place can also play an important role in helping someone feel safe and supported.

“Hampton Ward provides an environment that recognises individual sensory and therapeutic needs, with features such as adjustable lighting, quieter spaces and a therapeutic programme helping women engage in their care and prepare for recovery and discharge.”

The first patients are expected to be admitted during the week commencing 5 October. Referrals can be made by contacting acg.referrals@nhs.net.