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Hospital trust handed £7.5 million for new learning disabilities support unit

A Black Country hospital trust has received a £7.5 million cash boot to develop a new unit for people with learning disabilities.

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The Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded the money from the Department of Health and Social Care capital fund for the new scheme.

The funding is to develop a new state-of-the-art purpose-built unit for people across the Black Country with learning disabilities.

Learning disability services are already being transformed as part of the sustainable transformation partnership (STP) across the Black Country both with the development of new, and strengthening existing, community services to care for and support people at home.

The trust's aim is to enhance community services to help people with learning disabilities remain in their own communities. The money will allow the development of a new unit so when people really need care and support they will receive it in the best possible environment, offering the highest quality services at a unit that is close to their home.

Lesley Writtle, chief executive of the Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: "I am thrilled that the trust has received this money which will allow the development of a new facility to support people with learning disabilities across the Black Country when they are at their most vulnerable.

"Receiving this money will truly enable us to continue to improve the access, and quality of our services, whilst ensuring our local communities receive the best possible access to high quality services.”