Services at Elizabeth House
We offer a service for the treatment of mental and emotional disorders through the provision of medical, psychological and nursing interventions supported by other members of the multi-disciplinary team which are designed to encourage communication of conflicts and insight into problems, with the goal being relief of symptoms, changes in behaviour leading to improved social and vocational functioning and personal growth.
Our services are provided across three units, two units are dedicated to the care and treatment for acute mental illness while our PICU offers intensive support for people who are experiencing a new episode or an acute exacerbation of an existing condition where there is often a corresponding increase in risk to themselves or others, which does not enable their safe, therapeutic management and treatment in an acute ward setting.
Acute Care Unit
Our Acute services can support people who are detained under the Mental Health Act, or who are admitted to hospital informally. People may access our acute service either as a direct admission or by stepping down from PICU services through our internal care pathway. This provides a seamless transition of care. We can support individuals experiencing difficulties due to a range of conditions including bipolar disorder, psychosis, depression, personality disorder and self-harm. We aim to prepare all service users for discharge straight back to their local community under the care of the community mental health team, or to the least restrictive environment appropriate to meet their own individual needs.
Admission Criteria:
Mental health condition, pre-existing or new diagnosis
18 years and over, working age or older adults
May be detained under the Mental Health Act or admission as an informal patient
Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
Our PICU Service specialises in the assessment and comprehensive treatment of people with a broad spectrum of acute and enduring mental health needs. We provide care and treatment to people who are experiencing the most acute phase of a mental illness and who are often in crisis. The aim of the PICU is to stabilise the person as quickly as possible, assess for further needs and implement the care and treatment required. As soon as it is safe to do so we will move the person to an acute unit for the duration of their required treatment.
Our experience of supporting people with a range of complex needs and challenging behaviours alongside co-existing issues such as dual diagnosis puts our service in prime position in the delivery of specialised intensive care.
Our PICU service provides placements for individuals who are aged over 18, detained under the mental health act and are experiencing difficulties which present a risk to their well-being, or to that of others
The aim within our PICU is for short, rapid interventions to help people regain a sense of control and order in their lives, so that they can move onto the least restrictive setting possible. We can support people who cannot, because of their difficulties, be assessed or treated safely in an open acute inpatient facility.
Our model of care is designed to meet the needs of those with behaviours that challenge. Service users may present with a high level of acuity, and so require a safe and therapeutic environment to manage their level of risk, and safely start them on the road to recovery. Our individual packages of care for those presenting with the highest levels of acuity focus on:
Ensuring a short length of stay, prior to transfer to a less restrictive environment
Out-of-hours rapid admission for emergency
Intensive, multi-disciplinary, therapeutic programmes aimed at delivering evidence-based interventions in order to rapidly reduce acute symptoms
Promoting self-management and recovery
An initial physical health screen and management
Admission Criteria
Mental health condition, pre-existing or new diagnosis
18 years and over, working age or older adults
Will be detained under the Mental Health Act
Will require enhanced support