- Melton Place in Leicestershire will provide support to adults with complex and enduring mental health needs
- The service offers a non-hospital setting for people who no longer require inpatient care but are not yet ready for discharge into the community
- New residential provision meets key objective of the NHS 10-Year Health Plan as demand for mental healthcare continues to rise
Priory is set to open the first of its new nurse-led community services, providing a residential alternative to hospital for adults with complex mental health needs.
Melton Place in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire is a 26-bed facility for people over 18, including those who may also be on the autism spectrum.
The new service replaces Priory Hospital Burton Park which was a high-dependency rehabilitation service for people with an acquired brain injury.
Melton Place is the first specialist community mental health service developed by Priory to help address system-wide challenges in line with the NHS 10-Year Health Plan and the shift from hospital to community care.
It has been designed to support local priorities around hospital discharge, step-down care and community rehabilitation in partnership with local authority and NHS commissioning partners.
The specialist team includes 24/7 nursing support and 24-hour on-call arrangements for physical health issues. Routine medication reviews and complex case management are overseen by a consultant psychiatrist, while positive behaviour support (PBS) is provided by practitioners as a core part of the recovery programme.
In a new report released last month, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) highlighted demand for mental healthcare continues to rise, with almost half a million new referrals to secondary mental health services every month.
For those who receive hospital treatment, the CQC reports that a lack of support post-discharge is leading to people being readmitted to hospital regularly.
Priory is the largest independent provider of mental health, addiction and working-age adult social care services in the UK with 270 facilities supporting 24,000 people a year.
Pictured: Louise Griffiths, Priory Director of Service Development, left, and Gary Stobbs, Priory Managing Director East, second from left at the front, pictured with the team at Priory Melton Place.
Gary Stobbs, Managing Director (East) at Priory, said: “This service bridges the gap between hospital rehabilitation and community living and will avoid or reduce the length of hospital admission in an environment that supports recovery, personal growth, inclusion, confidence and skill acquisition.
“The support provided at Melton Place is focused on stabilisation, recovery and progression towards further independence and has been designed in collaboration with system partners to meet regional demand.
“This service will be particularly appropriate for people who may have been stuck in hospital settings for significant periods of time – or would previously have been admitted – but would benefit more from a residential, community setting.
“This new model of care will meet the growing needs of our communities and enable more people to receive specialist support closer to home.”
Louise Griffiths, Priory Director of Strategy and Service Development, said: “Daily routines balance structure and flexibility, promoting engagement, self-care and responsibility. Activities include group sessions, health promotion, vocational opportunities and leisure programmes, with family and carers encouraged to participate through regular contact, reviews and feedback forums.
“Everyone who stays with us has a care plan developed with the objective of a return to the community as soon as feasible, either to home or to a supported living unit.”