16:00, 07 Mar 2026<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0_Woodloes-HousePNG.png\")
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Woodloes House in Warwick has been earmarked for closure<\/p>\n
Proposals to shut Warwick’s<\/a> mental health<\/a> hospital for elderly women have sparked outrage amongst local councillors.<\/p>\n Woodloes House, located on Woodloes Avenue South in Warwick<\/a>, currently provides 15 beds for female mental health patients aged 65 and above, but health service chiefs are looking to reduce demand by launching a new ‘Hospital at Home’ initiative focused on early intervention and recovery within comfortable, familiar environments.<\/p>\n Coventry<\/a> and Warwickshire<\/a> Partnership Trust (CWPT), the organisation responsible for mental health and dementia<\/a> care across the area, maintains the beds will only be removed once the effectiveness of the new approach has been proven.<\/p>\n Read more: Gang used drones to smuggle phones and drugs into Warwickshire jail<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Read more: Update on Warwickshire pub plagued by violence as police say ‘great work’<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Should the plan go ahead, 12 of the 15 displaced beds would be redistributed to alternative facilities in Warwick and Nuneaton<\/a>, though other groups would also experience bed reductions.<\/p>\n The total number of male and female beds for mental health and dementia throughout the county would decrease by a quarter, dropping from the current 60 to 45.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, CWPT maintains that comparable initiatives implemented elsewhere have enhanced both fairness and quality of care, and will particularly benefit south Warwickshire women with dementia who presently must travel to hospitals in the county’s north to receive services that could now be delivered at their homes. Chief operating officer Julie Frake-Harris addressed Warwickshire’s adult social care and health overview and scrutiny committee \u2013 a body comprising elected representatives from county, district and borough councils responsible for monitoring relevant services: “I would like to be absolutely clear that no in-patient beds will close unless we are absolutely clear that the new model, our hospital at home team, is able to meet the needs of those patients who are able to stay in their communities at home.”<\/p>\n Associate medical director and mental health specialist Dr Rinki Banerjee subsequently championed the transfer of services from Woodloes to the Ferndale ward at St Michael’s Hospital, Warwick.<\/p>\n Keep up with the latest news from across Warwickshire with our FREE email newsletter.<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Ferndale presently provides care for elderly men, and she contended that the “absence of co-location” of broader health services “can cause some challenges” at Woodloes, with the comprehensive support for various conditions \u2013 both physical and mental \u2013 resulting in quicker discharges for male patients.<\/p>\n Information about the seven-day-a-week Hospital at Home scheme, staffed by doctors, consultants and non-medical professionals including specialist nurses, NHS<\/a> social workers and occupational therapists, was subsequently outlined.<\/p>\n The majority of patients will receive a fortnight of hospital at home care followed by a “smooth transition” to extended care where required, including in-patient treatment if deemed appropriate. A trial programme in Worcestershire reportedly demonstrated enhanced outcomes.<\/p>\n Chief medical officer Dr Richard Onyon stated: “The focus of this change is about improving care and experience for patients, not reducing the beds, and that we build on the strength of the specialist and compassionate care provided by our staff.”<\/p>\n CWPT has subsequently announced that \u00a31.2 million would be put towards the initiative, creating 10 professional positions across 23 posts in total, though local councillors remained unconvinced.<\/p>\n