Parkwood Mental Health Hospital
An old photo of the complex in use.
I can't find the exact date that Parkwood was built, but I would presume the 90s from it's design. The oldest news on the property was a report carried out on the deaths of 18 patients between 1999 and 2001, stating that 'there was a lack of proper management and a culture of denial, in that staff refused to accept there was a problem. No one has been disciplined at the unit but the management team has been replaced.' Situated on the Blackpool Victoria Hospital site, it wasn't originally built to provide mental health services, and was described as 'not fit for purpose' before it closed. In 2006, plans were put forward for a 'super hospital,' 'The Harbour,' to be built in Blackpool which would replace the ageing Parkwood unit. The existing wards were poorly managed and in a 2012 CQC report, various other failings were highlighted, especially at a female-only ward. It was later revealed that 44 beds had been lost in 12 months, with the remainder closing in 2015 once 'The Harbour' opened.
Here is another disappointing hospital we have had the pleasure of wandering around in the last few weeks. @The Excursionists pointed this one out and we decided to visit it a few days ago, again using darkness to assist our entry. With a lot of potential redevelopment, some of which I believe is supposed to go ahead very soon, Blackpool hospital are keeping a close watch with IR cameras on each corner and the structure tightly sealed. Getting inside was incredibly tough and highly wasteful considering the internal condition of the building. The facility is massive so we hoped to find at least one point of interest inside, like cool circle light that make place cool, but it would turn out not to be.
The building consists of private rooms, multiple activity related treatment spaces and 4 wards: Balmoral, Stirling, Conway and Warick.
The first thing we noticed was the locks on almost every door. Here is the activity room, which would be a safe and probably observed place for patients.
A patient's bedroom.
A reception desk. I presume the vandalism was done prior to sealing.
The entrance to the Restart and Recovery centre.
Gymnasium.
Canteen.
Boardroom.
As we crossed over from one half of the building to another, it became clear that backup power was still running through the property, however, the lights themselves didn't work. As mentioned, an earlier scout in the night had revealed that external IR sensors are in place that cause an alarm to go off, but whether they are monitored too closely is another question. One thing we had hoped is that power would still run through the hospital so we didn't have to light paint but that wasn't to be.
Some clothing left in a locker room.
From here, we entered the ward side of the hospital. The 4 wards I noted were all identical in design, so here is one of them. There were many smaller wards and clinical rooms, sadly with nothing inside them other than the furnishings.
Thanks for reading
An old photo of the complex in use.
I can't find the exact date that Parkwood was built, but I would presume the 90s from it's design. The oldest news on the property was a report carried out on the deaths of 18 patients between 1999 and 2001, stating that 'there was a lack of proper management and a culture of denial, in that staff refused to accept there was a problem. No one has been disciplined at the unit but the management team has been replaced.' Situated on the Blackpool Victoria Hospital site, it wasn't originally built to provide mental health services, and was described as 'not fit for purpose' before it closed. In 2006, plans were put forward for a 'super hospital,' 'The Harbour,' to be built in Blackpool which would replace the ageing Parkwood unit. The existing wards were poorly managed and in a 2012 CQC report, various other failings were highlighted, especially at a female-only ward. It was later revealed that 44 beds had been lost in 12 months, with the remainder closing in 2015 once 'The Harbour' opened.
Here is another disappointing hospital we have had the pleasure of wandering around in the last few weeks. @The Excursionists pointed this one out and we decided to visit it a few days ago, again using darkness to assist our entry. With a lot of potential redevelopment, some of which I believe is supposed to go ahead very soon, Blackpool hospital are keeping a close watch with IR cameras on each corner and the structure tightly sealed. Getting inside was incredibly tough and highly wasteful considering the internal condition of the building. The facility is massive so we hoped to find at least one point of interest inside, like cool circle light that make place cool, but it would turn out not to be.
The building consists of private rooms, multiple activity related treatment spaces and 4 wards: Balmoral, Stirling, Conway and Warick.
The first thing we noticed was the locks on almost every door. Here is the activity room, which would be a safe and probably observed place for patients.
A patient's bedroom.
A reception desk. I presume the vandalism was done prior to sealing.
The entrance to the Restart and Recovery centre.
Gymnasium.
Canteen.
Boardroom.
As we crossed over from one half of the building to another, it became clear that backup power was still running through the property, however, the lights themselves didn't work. As mentioned, an earlier scout in the night had revealed that external IR sensors are in place that cause an alarm to go off, but whether they are monitored too closely is another question. One thing we had hoped is that power would still run through the hospital so we didn't have to light paint but that wasn't to be.
Some clothing left in a locker room.
From here, we entered the ward side of the hospital. The 4 wards I noted were all identical in design, so here is one of them. There were many smaller wards and clinical rooms, sadly with nothing inside them other than the furnishings.
Thanks for reading
