Mental Health Assessment Hub opens in Ayrshire
NHS Ayrshire and Arran has officially opened a new, nurse-led Mental Health Unscheduled Care Assessment Hub. Recognised as the first of its kind in Scotland, the hub aims to deliver a new model of care to individuals with acute mental illness.
Based at Woodland View in Irvine, the facility provides a patient-focused, therapeutic space to support the delivery of compassionate care to individuals eligible for an adult acute mental health bed for ongoing intensive assessment.
Managed and coordinated by the Mental Health Unscheduled Care Service, the hub provides 24-hour access to mental health assessment and interventions. The service is delivered by experienced Registered Mental Health Nurses within a therapeutic environment for a period of up to 72 hours, and will be able to accommodate up to five patients.
North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Director, Caroline Cameron, said:
“We are delighted to be able to officially open this new service.
“We piloted the hub earlier this year for a small number of patients. We are now ready to open at full capacity and provide this new way of working for those living in Ayrshire who are experiencing acute mental illness.”
The hub aims to:
- improve the patient journey through the Mental Health Unscheduled Care Service;
- facilitate closer working and a smoother patient journey between community and inpatient services;
- reduce the number of unscheduled admissions to acute adult inpatient mental health beds;
- reduce the waiting time for planned adult acute admissions;
- reduce the number of initial assessments carried out in acute wards, releasing resources for treatment;
- provide training opportunities in assessment of mental illness for clinical staff.
Thelma Bowers, Head of Mental Health, Addictions and Learning Disabilities added:
“The Mental Health Unscheduled Care Assessment Hub is one of the ways we are aiming to transform our approach to how those living in Ayrshire can access and receive mental health care and to improve the patient journey through mental health unscheduled care services.”
