St Martha’s Hospital FAQs
A healthcare professional or family member can contact us by email or phone.
Use this link to request a referral form or to provide some basic information, and we will respond.
For general enquiries email stmarthas.lws@nhs.net or call 01425 207028 for Reception.
At St Martha’s Hospital we care for patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 whose severe mental illness is actively managed. Care is led by consultant psychiatrists.
At St Martha’s Nursing Unit, care is essentially in the community, managed by a GP and nursing staff with expertise from visiting psychiatrists. Our residents’ mental illness is a chronic, stable condition.
A High Support Inpatient Services (HSIS) is a ward where the doors are locked. A Low Secure Unit has a higher security rating with airlocks, perimeter fences and specific risk assessments.
- Rose Ward: 18 beds for women, intensive support
- Iris Unit: 5 self-contained accommodations
- Shamrock Ward: 18 beds for men, high support
We care for people aged 55 years and above with a functional illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar affective disorder. They will often have co-morbid organic syndromes and personality disorders as well as significant substance-use disorders and physical health conditions. We also provide care to people aged 40 years and above with progressive organic illness such as dementing illnesses of early onset, Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Most of our patients and residents are over 65.
Yes, at St Martha’s we care for both men and women.
We have carers’ support groups and information sessions that run once a quarter. Carers will also be offered support from your multi-disciplinary team (MDT) throughout your journey at St Martha’s.
Our range of specialist staff includes: psychiatrists (trained in older-age psychiatry, forensic psychiatry and general psychiatry), primary care (GP services) provided by Swan Medical Group, registered mental health and registered general (adult) nurses, associate nurses, support workers/care staff, social workers, psychologists, occupational therapy and activities teams, speech and language therapists, and music, drama, art, physiotherapy and dietary specialists.
All bedrooms at St Martha’s are single occupancy and en-suite. Your room will have special fob access so that only you and staff are able to get in.
We run an exciting programme of activities, which change frequently as we bring in new ideas and cater to the interests of our patients and residents. Recent examples include cookery, gardening, pampering, bingo, art, computer sessions, yoga and Tai Chi, and a Friday café. We have dedicated activities coordinators as well as a fitness instructor, Tai Chi instructor and visiting entertainment.
We are located within the beautiful New Forest in Hampshire. We have our own transport department who can take you to nearby Ringwood, a lively market town. There are good rail and road links to London, as well as to bustling Southampton and the beaches and Winter Gardens of Bournemouth.
St Martha’s Hospital welcomes women with dementia to Daisy Ward, providing a caring and supportive lower-stimulus environment, and men to Shamrock Ward.
Our care is designed to maintain and improve your mental and physical health and wellbeing across a range of wards and units that meet differing and fluctuating needs. Some patients may stay for six months and some for longer, moving through our wards and units as their condition improves or their assessed needs change.
No, we don’t have this service.
Not as a primary problem or condition, however many of our patients and residents have a history of alcohol and substance use in addition to their primary mental health problem.
We rarely use rapid tranquilisation and prefer verbal de-escalation skills to manage distress without additional medication.
Your care is paid for by the NHS and/or Local Authority commissioning groups. All our patients are NHS patients who require specialist care not provided for (or not in sufficient quantity or specialism) at NHS hospitals.
Yes, we do. Although St Martha’s is near Ringwood, Hampshire, we accept referrals from across the UK. Our main commissioning partners are in London and the South of England but we have had patients from as far afield as Scotland.
Visiting times are 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm. Please make sure you call and book your visit at least 24 hours in advance.
