Cornwall's first mental health unit tailored specifically for young people has been given an opening date of April 2019 following news earlier this year that £5 milion of government funding had been committed to build the centre.
The 12-bed unit, which will be located next to Bodmin Hospital, will cater for boys and girls between 13 and 18-years old who suffer from mental health conditions, which means young people in Cornwall will no longer have to go out-of-county for speciailist care.
The Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which will manage the unit, has announced that construction should start in Spring 2018 with April 2019 completion.
Phil Confue, the Trust's chief executive Partnership, said:
“We are absolutely delighted to have been given the go ahead for this unit and be able to announce who will be building the facility which will provide a much-needed service to some of our most vulnerable young people.
“Currently children from Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly have to travel out of county for this kind of service. The ability to regularly see family and friends while in hospital is a key element to a patient’s recovery, especially in the case of children. The new unit will enable the Trust to deliver care much closer to home.”
The green light for the project came after a campaign by the Invictus Trust charity which helps teenagers suffering with poor mental health.
Welcoming the news, Scott Mann said:
“It’s fantastic news for Cornwall that we will have a new and bespoke mental health facility for young people by April 2019.
“Mental health provision is one of the biggest challenges facing our society and I’ve heard of upsetting cases where parents have had to travel hundreds of miles to see their child who is living in a mental health unit on the other side of the country.
“This new centre is the result of campaigning by the Invictus Trust which helps young people with mental health conditions as well as new government funding which will pay for the centre and more mental health staff in hospital A&E on a 24/7 basis.”
To learn more about the work of the Invictus Trust including the help and support it offers young people, click here.
