A £4m bid to bring West Norfolk mental health services together under one roof has got the go-ahead.

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) has been given planning permission to create a 16-bed inpatient unit at Chatterton House, in King's Lynn.

A new crisis suite will also be purpose-built on the Goodwin's Road site to provide a safe place where people in a mental health crisis who have come into contact with the police can receive care.

It will replace the existing crisis suite at the Fermoy Unit, on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) site.

The suite will be developed as part of the larger construction project, which will see a connecting area built between two empty wards at Chatterton House and 16 single, en-suite rooms created. Inpatient facilities which are currently based in the Fermoy Unit will then transfer, and will offer care to men and women with conditions such as depression and bipolar disorder.

The Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment teams (CRHT) – also currently at Fermoy – will also move onto the site.

New services will also be run from Chatteron, including day treatment services for people who are well enough to return home but still need some further support.

The project has been made possible following a successful bid for £4m in funding from NHS England, which was led by NSFT in partnership with West Norfolk CCG. Work is expected to begin in March and be complete in early 2019.

Pauline Davies, NSFT's West Norfolk locality manager, said: 'We are delighted that we have now secured planning permission for this exciting project, which will transform the care offered to patients by offering truly integrated mental health services from one site. It will also significantly improve the facilities from which we provide care, as well as allowing us to introduce additional services for patients and their families.'

John Webster, accountable officer for West Norfolk CCG, said: 'The CCG is really pleased to support the development of this service, which will have a major impact on the care these patients will receive in the future. Having the 136 Suite located on this site will mean that treatment will be provided in West Norfolk and stop patients having to be transported to Norwich for their care.'