It has applied to North Norfolk District Council for permission to make alterations to an existing wing to create six new bedrooms for patients, including an overnight guest room which could provide the link to a further expansion of the property.
A mental health hospital in north Norfolk which has been placed in special measures after being slammed by health inspectors just months after opening has applied for planning permission to extend the building to cope with an increase in demand for its services.
Mundesley Hospital was last week rated inadequate in a report published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which identified a number of 'serious problems' at the private 27-bed unit in Gimingham Road, where patient freedom was said to be restricted due to the layout of the building.
Now it has applied to North Norfolk District Council for permission to make alterations to an existing wing to create six new bedrooms for patients.
The proposals include an overnight guest room which could provide the link to a further expansion of the property which dates back to 1898 and was one of the country's leading sanatoriums for the treatment of Tuberculosis before a vaccine was developed.
In a supporting statement with the plans, Sheringham-based architects SMG state: 'The area being developed within this application is the physiotherapy wing which was not part of the initial refurbishment and so has remained unused since opening.
'The use of this wing will be to provide the hospital with six extra beds which can also be segregated from the rest of the hospital. It also allows the provision of one guest room, room 6, to serve patients whose family may wish to stay overnight.
'This room has been purposefully positioned as part of a potential link to a second phase of works which will be developed shortly.
'The new and existing building has been proposed to be re-clad given the poor appearance of this physiotherapy wing when compared with the adjoining listed timber hospital. With this in mind the client has chosen to re-clad the poor brickwork with a cladding to reflect the same style as the main hospital but not to compete with it, therefore a hard-plank, or similar, coloured boarding system has been proposed in colours and styles to match.'
Mundesley Hospital said it was working with CQC to address the concerns raised in the inspection report.
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