A ten-bed hospital unit for patients with learning disabilities and autism is set to be built in Bristol.
The NHS has announced plans for the facility at Blackberry Hill, to be run by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.
It will be designed specifically to care for people with a learning disability or autism who need hospital treatment but whose needs cannot be met in a mainstream mental health hospital.
NHS England says the unit “will help bring an end to long-distance placements, making life better both for individuals who need hospital treatment, and for their families, friends, and carers”.
Director of nursing at NHS England South West Jill Crook said: “This is fantastic news for the South West and represents years in the making of hard work to drastically transform the health services available for individuals with a learning disability and autistic people.”