PLANS FOR NEW MENTAL HEALTH UNIT TAKE A STEP FORWARD
Plans for a new unit to modernise acute mental health care for people from North Lanarkshire and Clydesdale in South Lanarkshire have taken an important step forward.
An initial agreement for the development was approved by the NHS Lanarkshire Board on 26 August 2009. It will now be submitted to the Scottish Government Health Directorate’s Capital Investment Group for consideration.
Acute mental health care is for people who require a stay in hospital due to their mental health condition. It is usually only required for a short period of time. The new 130-bedded unit will be based at either MonklandsHospital or Wishaw GeneralHospital. It will provide the best possible care for people who require acute mental health care by bringing together a wide range of expertise, treatment and diagnostic options on one site in an improved, purpose-built environment.
The facility will be for people living in the North Lanarkshire catchment area - including Cumbernauld, Kilsyth, the Northern Corridor, Coatbridge, Airdrie, Motherwell, Bellshill and Wishaw – as well as people living in Clydesdale in South Lanarkshire. The unit will allow NHS Lanarkshire to provide local intensive psychiatric care and in‑patient addiction treatment. This will reduce the need for patients to be referred to other areas or to the independent sector for treatment.
Colin Sloey, Director of North Lanarkshire Community Health Partnership, NHS Lanarkshire, said: “This development is a key component of the Lanarkshire Mental Health Strategy, which was developed in partnership with patients, carers, North Lanarkshire Council and South Lanarkshire Council.
“We are committed to providing safe and effective in-patient care for a group of patients who are among the most vulnerable in our population. This initial agreement is an important step towards our goal to providing a first class care and treatment unit for people who require acute mental health care by 2013.
“NHS Lanarkshire is also enhancing community mental health services so we provide support closer to people’s homes and, where possible, reduce the need for them to be admitted to hospital.”
The new unit will be developed as a mental health campus offering in-patient care and treatment to the following care groups:
It will include a modern treatment facility for all of the above care groups to help provide the best opportunity for recovery.
Dr Arturo Langa, Acting Associate Medical Director (Mental Health & Learning Disabilities) for NHS Lanarkshire, said: “In Lanarkshire, one in four people will have a mental health condition at some point in their lives. Some of them will require hospital-based treatment as a result. People with mental health conditions can and do recover. The new mental health acute inpatient unit is an important facility that will help give them the greatest chance of doing so.”
NHS Lanarkshire will involve patients, carers, staff and other stakeholders in the process of looking at the preferred location for the new unit. This process will begin after the initial agreement has been considered by the Scottish Government.
In North Lanarkshire, adult acute mental health inpatient care is currently provided at MonklandsHospital in Airdrie and Wishaw GeneralHospital. Old age acute mental health inpatient care is provided at Wishaw GeneralHospital, CoathillHospital in Coatbridge and Airbles Road Centre in Motherwell. The new unit will bring together the acute mental health beds provided at each of these sites.
As well as the benefits to patients of bringing together these services on one site, it will also ensure that NHS Lanarkshire can sustain 24-hour psychiatric medical cover across inpatient services.
Changes in medical training and the European Working Time Directive impact greatly on the future medical workforce availability and work patterns. As a result, the way acute mental health services are currently delivered is not sustainable in the medium to longer term.
In South Lanarkshire, acute mental health care will continue to be provided at HairmyresHospital and at UdstonHospital, which provides old age acute mental health inpatient care.