Under-fire trust to open new mental health units

An under-fire mental health trust has announced it will open two new urgent care units in Essex this summer.

Buildings at the hospitals in Colchester and Harlow are due to be redeveloped for the project by the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT).

EPUT has been the subject of the UK's first public inquiry into mental health deaths, which is due to resume on 2 February.

Chief executive Paul Scott said the urgent care units would provide a "therapeutic space" for assessment and intervention in adult patients.

It has been described by the trust as a "significant milestone" towards improving its care.

EPUT said they would help alleviate pressure on emergency departments while providing a space better suited to patients in distress.

"The units will strengthen the existing mental health crisis support available in Essex, helping to ease pressure on local emergency departments while delivering high-quality care for our communities," Scott said.

The BBC has asked EPUT what the capacity will be for both units.

While smaller than a similar unit that opened in Basildon in 2023, each centre will have specialist mental health staff on site.

Feedback from patients suggested these types of treatment centres were having a "huge" impact, according to EPUT.

Tom Abell, chief executive of the NHS Essex Integrated Care Board cluster, said demand for mental health crisis care was rising.

"These units will make a real difference by ensuring people across Essex can access timely, specialist support in calm, therapeutic spaces," he added.

EPUT provides services to more than 100,000 patients at any one time.

The deaths of more than 2,000 people, who were being cared for by EPUT and the North East London NHS Foundation Trust, are being examined at the Lampard Inquiry.

It aims to understand what happened to patients who died at inpatient units between 2000 and the end of 2023.

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