Planning approval granted for enhancements to new young people’s mental health unit
Young people from across West Yorkshire and the staff caring for them will benefit from expanded and more spacious facilities adapted for a post pandemic world when they move into a new purpose built mental health unit later this year.
The new £20million unit, to be known as Red Kite View, will accommodate a new enhanced Child and Adolescent Mental Health Inpatient Service (CAMHS), and is currently being built on the St Mary’s Hospital site in Armley, Leeds.
Leeds City Council has now approved amendments to the design of the unit to help the Trust implement improved safety measures required following the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The changes focus on providing more space for staff, young people and their families or carers to socially distance inside the building, and improve points where service users could congregate presenting a higher risk of infection.
Check out this virtual tour showing what it’ll be like inside Red Kite View when its finished:
Red Kite View will be staffed by an enhanced multi-disciplinary mental health team and will provide a spacious modern facility for young people with significant mental health needs from across West Yorkshire who need an inpatient stay as part of their recovery. As well as a total of 22 bedrooms it will feature a range of therapy and activity spaces, educational facilities and welcoming areas in which families can visit including a number of safe outdoor spaces.
Dawn Hanwell, Deputy Chief Executive at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and joint project leader, said: “I warmly welcome the Council’s decision to approve our proposal to expand Red Kite View.
“Our shared ambition is to ensure we deliver the right care, at the right time, and in the right place for young people who require highly specialist mental health support.
“By providing more space we are adapting to our post pandemic future – allowing our staff to care for our service users in a safer environment. Our construction partners are working really hard to accommodate this expansion and we look forward to welcoming staff and young people into Red Kite View before Christmas this year.”
Bryan Machin, Deputy Chief Executive at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, and joint project leader, said: “This fantastic new facility will mark a huge step forward for the region’s mental health services.
“The new team working there will be operating in a safer, modern, purpose built facility, meaning more young people across West Yorkshire will get the care they need closer to home.
“We took the decision to expand the original specifications of the site in 2020 based on our learning from the impact of the pandemic. We approved an additional £3million investment which will allow for enhanced infection prevention controls and social distancing within the building.”
Background to Red Kite View and the new Children and Adolescent Inpatient Mental Health Service for West Yorkshire
In 2020 a group of young people and staff were involved in deciding what this 22 bed facility should be called – which was agreed as Red Kite View.
Red Kite View opens in December 2021 and will offer a welcoming, therapeutic environment to support young people aged from 13 up to 18 years of age who need help in an inpatient setting in their journey to recovery.
It will support young people experiencing significant psychiatric, psychological or emotional problems that are causing them interpersonal, educational and social functioning problems. The team will work with a huge range of other services across West Yorkshire supporting young peoples’ mental health including the NHS, local authorities and third sector providers.
Its two main wards will be staffed by a dedicated multi-disciplinary team including nurses, psychiatrists, teachers, clinical psychologists, and wide range of allied health professionals and non-clinical support staff. The service team will work closely with the young person’s community mental health team during their stay at Red Kite View.
Most young people will come to Red Kite View as informal residential patients. Some young people may need to be admitted under the Mental Health Act (1983) or may be subject to other court orders. Whatever the situation of the young person they will be offered assessment, treatment and support in one of our wards. Both wards will offer light, modern facilities including spacious, comfortable and private en-suite bedrooms.
One ward will be designated as our Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). This is a low stimulus, highly structured therapeutic environment with high levels of staff to ensure that the behaviours that the young person is presenting with can be assessed and supported. Levels of physical, relational and procedural security on the PICU will be similar to those in low security inpatient CYPMHS.
The second ward is our general admission ward where we provide the same high standards of care without the need for enhanced physical or procedural security measures.
Red Kite View will also host a young peoples’ health-based place of safety. This is a space for young people who are detained under Section 136/135 of the Mental Health Act (1983) where they can receive a mental health assessment with specialist health professionals, rather than be detained in police custody or go to A&E.
Detail on changes that have been approved
The changes to the original specification include:
- Increased size of classrooms
- Increased size of lounge / dining areas to general ward
- Increased size and relocate family therapy room closer to entrance of unit
- An additional family therapy room (now two in total)
- Increased size of waiting area facilities, including a sub-waiting area
- Increased storage facilities
An extension of the First Floor area to enable:
- Increased size of staff rest facilities
- Increased size of staff change facilities
An extension of the Ground Floor to enable:
- Increased size of facilities management room
Increased size of tribunal / meeting rooms