RESIDENTS are being invited to suggest names for areas within the new £40m Atherleigh Park hospital.

The Wigan and Leigh mental health hospital is being built on the site of the former Leigh east Amateur Rugby League ground of Atherleigh Way.

The site will be split in to two separate buildings providing high quality inpatient services for adults suffering from mental ill health as well as patients with dementia and memory conditions.

And the 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is asking residents to come up with names for the wards, communal areas, office and a cafe.

Chief Executive Simon Barber, said: “Given its location in the heart of the Leigh East community, Atherleigh Park will also act as a community hub, providing space for use by other mental health and related community service providers including charities, voluntary groups and housing organisations.

“As such, we feel it’s important to involve local people from the beginning and welcome any ideas for naming the wards and areas of the hospital, which will be in place for years to come.

“Inpatients on our current site at Leigh Infirmary have already been thinking about this and have come up with themes around famous local people, Leigh local history and the town’s links with mining, so it would be worth bearing these in mind when considering your ideas.”

Ideas can be emailed to atherleighpark@5bp.nhs.uk or tweeted to @5boroughsnhs. The closing date for suggestions is Friday, September 25.

The Trust’s Atherleigh Park project board will make the final decisions.

Inpatients are expected to move to the adults building – phase one – in autumn 2016, while the later life and memory services building aims to open early 2017.