The Times are given a special tour around the £46million Woodland View mental health facility at Ayrshire Central Hospital

The Times were this week given special access to the newly constructed Woodland View ahead of the arrival of its first patients.

Based at Ayrshire Central, the new hospital is the result of four years of hard work by NHS Ayrshire & Arran staff to deliver a state-of-the-art facility.

And NHS bosses are delighted that the project has been delivered on time and within budget.

The facility will accommodate 206 patients from across Ayrshire who will be given a level of care and rehabilitation that can only be provided with a short stay in hospital.

This week, the Times were granted an exclusive tour of the elderly patient wards which include rooms, social space, open courtyards and facilities to the standard of a “boutique hotel”.

The layout and interior of the wards were given extra emphasis as a means of improving the comfort of patients.

Paintings and old photographs are spread across the wards as well as an open plan sitting area with a kitchen to give an added feel of independence for elderly patients.

Each bedroom has been designed with fitted furniture with ample storage including a large window providing views of the landscaped gardens.

The colour schemes in all rooms were chosen after a consultation with NHS staff, patients and members of the public.

Although finishing touches are still being applied to the facility, NHS bosses say the facility will be ready to welcome its new patients.

Woodland View programme director John Scott told the Times after the tour: "I’m delighted with the outcome, I think a lot of the design features have come to fruition and I think there’s a complete step-change in terms of the facilities that the patients will have.

“We spent a lot of time visiting other facilities in Scotland and England and in terms of the mental health aspects it surpasses anything that we’ve seen.

“When we got approval for the project in 2012 we had a budget to work to and I’m delighted to say we’re within budget and on programme.

“We set the target of Spring 2016 and the first patients will be moving in next week so we’re on programme.

“From the projects team point of view and the effort that’s went in over the last four years since we’ve been given approval it’s been a lot of hard work and it’s great to see the end result of that now.”

Programme manager Linda Boyd added: “We consulted patients, families and the public right at the beginning about what the design of the new facility would mean for them and we’re really pleased to say that everyone of those features we’ve been able to introduce into the design of the building.

“We’ve given patients private space for their own dignity, public space and garden space where they’ve got a choice of activities and right at the core of everything Woodland View brings is around rehabilitation, recovery and re-enablement to allow people to get home as quickly as possible even though they may have required a short stay in hospital.”

She continued: “In relation to the design of the hospital, it’s colourful, it’s bright, it’s designed to look more like a boutique hotel rather than a hospital facility.

“When people require a stay in hospital they tell us they want to get home as quickly as possible, as such the environment is homely but also has lots of activity space for physical exercise, walking in the grounds to go cycling within the ground, all of those elements that a modern day mental health service would feature.

“Where you have good surroundings, excellent surroundings, that are bright, to a high standard, it also helps the individual to their feeling of worth and help them themselves feel better and to use the facilities.

“Every element, every square metre of this facility supports people and supports their recovery.”

Woodland View will open to the public this Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30.

Members of the public are welcome to drop-in anytime between 10am and 12noon and then 2pm until 4pm.