Guild Lodge is Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust's secure mental health inpatient hospital.

Guild Lodge, opened in July 1999, comprising of three medium secure wards and one low secure ward with a total of 54 male and female beds. We have expanded and now provide 164 beds across different levels of security (Medium, Low and Step Down). We have pathways for men and women from Lancashire and South Cumbria.  We also have a specialist pathway for men with an Acquired Brain Injury that accepts national referrals. 

We provide high standards of care for people with complex mental health care needs, in a secure environment that safeguards them, our staff, and the general public. Service users and their carers are given the opportunity to be involved, as far as is practicable, in planning and developing their own treatment and care. This helps ensure that it is delivered in a way that is as appropriate and effective for them as possible underpinned by recovery principles.

Service users are able to access a wide range of therapies and activities to support their recovery including psychological therapies, occupational and vocational opportunities, and skills development. We have a varied multi-disciplinary team including doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists and a Primary Care Team.

At Guild Lodge we:

  • Assist service users to achieve health gains, to effectively treat or ameliorate mental disorders and psychological distress, and to minimise the disadvantages of psychosocial difficulties
  • Encourage individuals to explore the psychopathology, and contextual aspects, of offending and risky behaviour, and issues associated with individual vulnerability
  • Undertake comprehensive multi-disciplinary assessment, advice and consultation for patients, or services, who require the expertise of Specialist Forensic Mental Health services to manage identified risk
  • Provide an in-patient environment and in collaboration with the CBU community-based teams that undertake assessment, treatment and rehabilitation, across medium, low and step down physical, procedural and relational security needs, across the range of dependency needs, and in community settings and prisons
  • Meet needs, promote health and well-being, enhance quality of life and provide appropriate rehabilitation opportunities for service users
  • Maximise opportunities for recovery and reintegration, and in particular to prepare and facilitate individuals for transfer or discharge to the most appropriate health or social care setting to meet their needs, in collaboration with local services and referring agencies
  • Provide assertive community follow-up, community support, supervision and crisis response for identified high risk service users, and out-patient support where appropriate
  • Promote the development of facilities and services in the community for mentally disordered offenders, vulnerable service users and those with similar needs who no longer require security
  • Manage risk and underlying psychological and other care needs, and to minimise opportunities for re-offending, while assisting the individual to develop alternative socially positive coping strategies
  • Undertake liaison and co-ordination with other agencies and services, and act in advisory and supportive capacities
  • Promote individual rights and the use of advocacy and self-advocacy
  • Provide a dedicated Secure Pathway service for women service users, reflecting individual needs and a safe environment
  • Provide a regional ABI secure inpatient pathway with medium secure, low secure and step-down provision for the North West Region as a whole.

Multi-Disciplinary Team Working

Within Guild Lodge, service users have access to a broad range of expertise with staff from a diverse pool of professional backgrounds. These include: 

  • Registered Mental Health Nurses and Health Care Support Workers
  • Associate Practitioners
  • Ward based Occupational Therapy Assistants
  • Consultant forensic and rehabilitation Psychiatrists
  • Trainee psychiatrists
  • Clinical Nurse Specialists
  • Patient Safety and Clinical Risk Manager
  • Occupational Therapists and Technical Instructors (including Physical Activities Coordinator)
  • Clinical Psychologists, Psychological Therapists and Psychology Assistants
  • Social Workers and Approved Social Workers
  • Forensic Community Mental Health Nurses
  • Clinical Pharmacists
  • Primary healthcare services including a General Practitioner and Practice Nurse, Dental Care, Podiatry, and Dietician, Speech and Language Therapy
  • Advocacy
  • Hospital Chaplain and other ministers and spiritual leaders

Multi-disciplinary team working is at the heart of our practice. Good team work enables the provision of effective, comprehensive care. Responding effectively to service user needs is the primary task of the team. All relevant professionals contribute to this process and to the creation of a safe and therapeutic care environment, whilst maintaining good inter-professional relationships. 

Ward information

The male secure wards have the capacity to provide inpatient care for up to 96 male service users across a pathway of medium secure and low secure clinical areas. This is divided into seven clinical areas:

  • Fairsnape has 8 beds and provides a medium secure admission and bespoke 12 week assessment function
  • Calder has 10 beds and provides a medium secure admission and assessment function
  • Greenside has 12 beds and provides an ongoing medium secure care and treatment function
  • Marshaw has 10 beds and provides a long term medium secure function
  • Mallowdale has 8 beds and provides an ongoing medium secure and treatment function
  • Fairoak has 18 beds and provides low secure rehabilitation for stepping down from medium secure care. Fairoak also carries a community bed for male service users under the care of the Forensic Community Mental Health Team (FCMHT) to access in times of crisis 
  • Dutton has 15 beds and provides low secure admission and assessment as well as ongoing low secure care and treatment.
  • Fellside West has 15 beds, 10 beds on an open clinical area and 5 self-contained flatlets.  This facility is accessed by male service users stepping down from medium secure and low secure care.

The Women’s service has the capacity to provide inpatient care for up to 25 female service users across a pathway of medium secure, low secure and step down clinical areas. This is divided into three clinical areas:

  • Elmridge has 9 beds and provides medium secure admission for assessment and treatment to service users
  • Fellside East has 8 beds and provides low secure packages of assessment and treatment to service users as well as ongoing low secure care and treatment
  • Forest Beck has 8 beds and provides a step down service for service users stepping out of medium and low secure care on Mallowdale and Fellside East.

The male acquired brain injury wards have the capacity to provide inpatient care for up to 43 male service users with an acquired brain injury (ABI) offering a pathway of medium secure, low secure and step down clinical areas. This is a regional service provided to the North West region as a whole. 

  • Bleasdale has 9 beds and provides a medium secure ABI admission; assessment and treatment function
  • Whinfell has 9 beds and provides a medium secure ABI admission; assessment and treatment function
  • Langden has 15 beds and provides a low secure admission, assessment; treatment and rehabilitation function
  • The Hermitage has 10 beds and provides a community house model for service users stepping out of medium and low secure care from within the male secure ABI medium and low secure service and the male secure. View the AccessAble accessibility guide for Hermitage