Two of the services are for men – Cygnet Hospital Stevenage’s Chamberlain Ward is a 12 bed service and Cygnet Victoria House’s Albert Ward is an 8 bed service. Pippin Ward at Cygnet Appletree near Durham is a 10 bed service for women.
All three services accept emergency and crisis admissions with referrals accepted from all areas, including acute and prison services.
Their aim is to provide a short, rapid intervention to help service users regain a sense of control and order in their lives, so they can move to a less restrictive care setting and ultimately return home.
The new services provide expert, intensive, short-term, individualised care for service users detained under the Mental Health Act. Service users will present with increased risks that require them to be assessed and treated in a PICU environment.