General acute units (GAUs) – Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

Our GAUs, also known as Tier 4 acute general adolescent units, are the most common settings for young people to be admitted to when they need inpatient mental health care.  Many young people are referred to a Tier 4 acute service as an emergency and therefore Priory offers admissions to Tier 4 acute units 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Young people can be admitted to us on a formal (sectioned) or informal (voluntary) basis.

Our Tier 4 acute units provide care for young people with a wide range of presentations including:

• Mental health conditions such as mood disorders and acute psychosis
• Eating disorders
• Mild learning disabilities and autism

Our approach

The main aim of a Tier 4 acute unit is to provide effective and timely treatment to enable the young person to reintegrate back into the community. Our models of care are tailored to the unique needs of each young person, to achieve positive outcomes.

Our multidisciplinary team will work with young people to:

• Develop trust and a safe framework for recovery
• Understand their difficulties and provide an effective treatment programme
• Meet their educational needs and support their family or carers
• Reintegrate young people back to their home lives so their treatment can continue in the community

Who do we support?

This service provides care and treatment for young people aged between 12 and 18 with:

• Acute mental health presentations
• Risk to self or others or from others