The new owner of a private mental health hospital in north Norfolk is keen to distance himself from the building's past.

Eastern Daily Press: Southern Hill Hospital in Mundesley. Pictured, chief executive Dr David Irandoust and Cressida Daglish, hospital director. Photo: Geraldine ScottSouthern Hill Hospital in Mundesley. Pictured, chief executive Dr David Irandoust and Cressida Daglish, hospital director. Photo: Geraldine Scott (Image: Geraldine Scott)

Dr David Irandoust took over the former Mundesley Hospital, now called Southern Hill Hospital, in June after a shock closure in October last year.

The former hospital run by Hope Community Healthcare Ltd had been branded unsafe and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found a disturbing list of failures.

But chief executive Dr Irandoust said he was keen to provide a needed service in the county, and would not want people to associate the new hospital with the old proprietors.

He said: 'I'm disappointed if people are making a judgment, we're nothing to do with the old provision.'

Eastern Daily Press: Southern Hill Hospital in Mundesley. Pictured, chief executive Dr David Irandoust. Photo: Geraldine ScottSouthern Hill Hospital in Mundesley. Pictured, chief executive Dr David Irandoust. Photo: Geraldine Scott (Image: Geraldine Scott)

Since June, the facility has been taking patients on its two wards, plus its psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) in Mundesley.

And Dr Irandoust said he had carried out extensive renovations and brought on board a new multidisciplinary team to bring the service, which is set in 18-acres of grounds, up to scratch.

He said: 'The treatment is holistic, it's not helping them to fill them up with medication and get them out of here, it's everything. And it's about how we can support people to live in the community and not be part of a revolving door.'

There will be a big push on physical health in the new facility, Dr Irandoust said.

But the problems with mental health care in the county had become apparent too and already calls had been taken with local people wanting to use the service, said Mental Health Act administrator Sue Bland.

She said: 'I've had a lot of calls and they said 'we want to use your hospital'. Our advice was you need to go to the crisis team but some called back and said they were placing them in Manchester.'

But Dr Irandoust said they were able to respond to those in crisis and they had worked with NHS trusts in London and Essex.

He said: 'We've had more than 50 positive discharges and at the moment the hospital is quite empty, because we wanted to get everyone home for Christmas. Our return rate is zero, no one has gone out of our hospital and come back.'