Cygnet Joyce Parker Hospital, named after a former care worker, is described as state-of-the-art and will offer support to young people aged between 12 and 18 with mental health issues.

“Joyce worked in care most of her life and was absolutely brilliant with patients and residents”

Jacqueline Johnson

Specialist healthcare teams will work in psychiatric intensive care and low secure environments with the aim of helping young people stabilise their condition and return home as soon as possible.

The opening of the new service in Lansdowne Street, Coventry, extends Cygnet Health Care’s national network of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) into the West Midlands.

Mermaid Ward, which will open in October, will provide a 10-bed CAMHS psychiatric intensive care service with a two-bed emergency place of safety suite for those experiencing severe mental illness.

Dragon Ward, which opens in early 2021, will provide a low secure service for young people who may need a longer stay, said the company in a statement announcing the plans.

Service users will also be able to stay at Centaur Court, five individual flatlet pods to help people that are stepping down from a hospital setting and are ready to trial independent living.

In addition, the hospital will offer a bookable accommodation suite providing overnight provision for families and carers who may be travelling a long distance to visit their loved ones.

Paul Bentham, Cygnet’s CAMHS operations director, said: “It is our aim is to create a high-quality service that will be emulated for the way it is helping young people on the road to recovery.”

Joyce Parker

The hospital is named in honour of Cygnet Support Worker Joyce Parker who died earlier this year at the age of 61.

She worked at Cygnet Meadow Mews, a community residential service for men with neuropsychiatric or neurodegenerative conditions in Tipton, West Midlands.

Jacqueline Johnson, a manager at Tipton, said: “Joyce worked in care most of her life and was absolutely brilliant with patients and residents. She was so caring, and her dedication and work ethic was amazing.”

“Because she was a bit older, she very supportive of new staff and was a brilliant member of the team. She got on with everyone. Nothing was too much trouble,” she said.

“We were all thrilled when Cygnet suggested naming the new service in Coventry after Joyce.”

Joyce’s husband, Darren, said he was delighted that his wife could be remembered in this way.

“We are very proud of our beloved Joyce and to have a hospital named after her is a great honour to a beautiful, loving lady. As a family, we thank Cygnet for their recognition,” he said.

He added: “Joyce got on with everybody or tried to. She was respected in her job where she worked. She was a brilliant person. She loved us all and we loved her.”