New 24/7 mental health assessment centre opens at Royal Derby Hospital
The centre is one of 59 opening nationally through £343m government investment
Patients attending Royal Derby Hospital's A&E during a mental health crisis can now benefit from a new standalone 24/7 assessment centre.
The mental health urgent assessment centre is housed within the Radbourne Unit at Royal Derby Hospital, which already accommodates patients with significant mental health conditions.
The centre involved refurbishing existing space to form four assessment rooms, a clinical room, offices and a reception.
It opened on Monday 28th September, and is one of 59 such centres opening within existing hospital provision across the country, funded by a £343 million investment from central government.
The new centre is not a new emergency department, but a specialist 24-hour facility for patients who have attended Royal Derby's existing A&E and been referred on for rapid support in a calmer and more private setting, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said.
The trust, which is managing the new centre, said the facility will support those "in a self-defined mental health crisis".
Initially, the centre will only take referrals from Royal Derby's emergency department, and cannot accept walk-in patients, the trust said.
A similar centre will open in the Chesterfield area by 2029, via an agreement from the Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board cluster, although a site has not yet been identified.
Mark Powell, chief executive of the trust, said the new centre "is a vital addition to the mental services we currently offer to people and will greatly improve the experience and outcomes of those who present at the emergency department with a self-defined mental health crisis".
"Thank you to all trust colleagues who have worked tirelessly to ensure the centre meets the needs of those who require this essential service," Mr Powell said.
"Also, a big thank you to our partners across the system, particularly colleagues at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Royal Derby, for working together on pathway designs," he said.
Baggy Shanker, Labour MP for Derby South, said in August, when the new centre was announced, that "when somebody reaches crisis point, they deserve specialist help quickly, not a long wait in a busy A&E".
"People will be assessed quickly in a calm, therapeutic environment and connected with the right ongoing care. It means getting the right help in the right place while also easing pressure on A&E," Mr Shanker said.
He described the £343 million investment in 59 new centres as "the biggest redesign of adult mental health services in a generation", saying the government was "rebuilding an NHS that is there for people when they need it".
"Serious mental ill health should be treated with the same urgency as any other health emergency," Mr Shanker said.
The announcement in August had said the new centre was due to open before March 2027, but the facility has now opened ahead of schedule.
Yvette Cooper, Health and Social Care Secretary, said the new centres for emergency patients would help "turn the tide on mental ill health".