Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust says work to build a new eight-bed psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) for young people at the Warneford Hospital site in Oxford, set to open in early September 2022, is now under way.
The Trust says the £4 million building, supported by NHS England/Improvement funding, will enable young people experiencing the most acutely disturbed phase of a serious mental disorder to receive specialist help closer to home. Set to be built alongside the award-winning Highfield Adolescent Inpatient Unit on the Warneford site, the facility will provide inpatient mental health care, assessment, and comprehensive treatments for young people across the Thames Valley region, and is part of a new regional model for the delivery of specialised mental health care for children and young people – the Thames Valley CAMHS Tier 4 Provider Collaborative, being led by Oxford Health. The Trust dubs it ‘a pioneering approach that seeks to share resources and expertise to deliver excellent and joined-up care’.
Service-users will be consulted in developing the PICU’s interior look and layout ahead of the opening.
Debbie Richards, Executive managing director for Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism, said: “We have seen an increase in demand and acuity during COVID. As the lead provider for the Thames Valley CAMHS Tier 4 Provider Collaborative, our clinicians are constantly managing regional and local pressures on beds. This additional capacity will be a most welcome and timely addition.”
Tony James, Consultant at Highfield Adolescent Unit, added: “I am delighted that construction is commencing on the PICU unit. It will provide a range of specialist programmes to enable a more comprehensive inpatient care pathway.”
PICUs provide containment of short-term behavioural disturbance which cannot be contained within a Tier 4 CAMHS general inpatient setting, including within a high dependency area. Behaviours of those admitted will be associated with a serious risk of either suicide, absconding with a significant threat to safety, aggression, or vulnerability.