A new mental health facilty aimed at young people has been opened at the Royal Preston Hospital.
The Platform is a new unit opened by Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust which aims to meet the needs of young people aged 16 to 17 with dedicated facilities.
It is based at the Avondale unit on the Royal Preston Hospital site and has six beds for young inpatients as well as an extra care area.
The new facility is in addition to the young people’s inpatient unit at The Junction in Lancaster and aims to ensure that the trust complies with recent legislative changes in the Mental Health Act.
Andrew Simpson, Network Director for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services said: “The addition of this new unit, alongside the Junction in Lancaster, will ensure that we have state of the art facilities for young people in Lancashire and that service users have access to the most effective care and treatment in a purpose built environment.”
The Platform was officially opened by Kathryn Pugh, National Lead for Mental Health Act 2007 Implementation, Children and Young People’s Workstream.
Former child patient Rachel Haddon, 22, has been a consultant for the new project, said: “Having the opportunity to be involved in creating a new service for 16-17 year olds has been really rewarding and a true privilege. I mean, who better to design the unit and facilitate the training of staff than those who have experienced being a young person with mental health problems.
“When I first walked onto the ward I was lost for words, amazed at how our hard work had eventually paid off and amounted to such a fantastic facility. The one thing I immediately noticed was the vast amount of natural light.”
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