Local MP Harriett Baldwin last week toured a new facility which will help re-integrate mental health patients back into the community. The MP also met with staff and patients as she toured the building and grounds with the management team from Partnerships in Care last Friday (September 28). The new Abbey House facility has been built in just six months to offer semi-independent accommodation for people with mental health issues. There are already 17 beds available in the new locked rehabilitation unit, Abbey House main building and the new block – built on the site of an old stable - offers accommodation for five people who are transitioning to life back in the outside world. It will offer patients the chance to test their life skills such as cooking, laundry and budgeting as they embark upon a path to independence and integration into society. As well as bedroom and a dining area, there is one self-contained disabled flat and a home cinema room. Harriett commented: “I have been impressed with the speed with which these flats have been built and they offer an important facility for people who are recovering from a period where they have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act. “I congratulate the Abbey House team for working so hard with the community to ensure that patients are able to integrate into the local area. “People who are cared for in these beautiful surroundings often make speedy progress towards re-entering everyday life and I know that there is already high interest in the living accommodation offered by this new building.”