New mental health unit opens

Neena Mahal, chairwoman of NHS Lanarkshire, said: “The unit is a key milestone of our mental health strategy for Lanarkshire to invest in and modernise services.

“It is a shining example of a facility that delivers real benefits for patients, helping them recover sooner in a way that meets our quality ambitions of being person centred, safe and effective.”

The specialist care unit, which has six beds in individual rooms, is said by NHS Lanarkshire to have been built to the latest mental health standards to ensure patients receive a safe service that supports them to recover as soon as possible.

Cabinet secretary for health and wellbeing Alex Neil said: “This new intensive psychiatric care unit will enable those who need appropriate specialist care to access it when they need to, and when their remaining in other treatment settings is not a practical option for their wellbeing.

“By having an intensive psychiatric care unit within mental health services locally, clinicians will be able to step up the intensity of care provided to those patients who are most unwell, and whose needs cannot be fully met within existing inpatient care facilities in Lanarkshire.”