A new adolescent mental healthcare facility for west Londoners has been green-lit by the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.

The project received funding from the government as part of the NHS 70th anniversary celebrations.

The new inpatient unit at the Centre for Mental Health in South Kensington, next to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital received a £2.1 million donation.

The centre will serve young people from Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Brent, Harrow, and Hillingdon, Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing and Hounslow.

The money will pay for 12 new beds for 13 to 18-year-olds who are experiencing severe mental health difficulties and need to be placed in a safe environment.

A further £2.1 million was granted for five additional beds at Kingswood Hospital in Brent, for young people with learning difficulties and autistic spectrum disorders experiencing mental health difficulties.

The services will enable the trust to manage bed availability, reduce the length of inpatient stay and make services more local.

Centre for Mental Health in South Kensington

The trust also hopes the new beds will reduce the disruption young people experience when using mental health facilities.

Jackie Shaw, services director of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is a real red letter day.

"We were concerned about a shortage of dedicated adolescent beds in North West London hampering the effectiveness of community crisis care pathways developed through the North West London new models of care program.

"Most people can be looked after at home but sometimes a short hospital stay is needed and this gives us the capacity and flexibility to improve treatments for young people closer to home.”

Jeremy Hunt (Conservative Party) at the South West Surrey constituency hustings Haslemere Hall, Bridge Road, Haslemere,
Jeremy Hunt announced an additional £4.2 million in mental health funding to mark the NHS 70th anniversary

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Jeremy Hunt said: "As the NHS approaches its 70th birthday, we are backing it with one of the largest capital programmes in NHS history.

"We are backing local NHS services with new buildings, beds and wards so that staff who have been working incredibly hard over winter can have confidence we are expanding capacity for the future.

"Further major projects are also under consideration across the country."

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