Mental Health Crisis House

Crisis Services are an innovation in the care and treatment of people experiencing serious mental illness who would previously have been admitted to hospital. They seek to provide person-centred, intensive, short-term treatment and support in the least restrictive environment possible – either at home or in a Crisis House. They are based on a holistic approach, allowing social issues to be addressed as part of a care plan, and can also offer support and education to family and carers. The service should provide a unique alternative to hospital admission for people experiencing an acute crisis in their mental health, and should provide up to fourteen days intensive 24 hr, specialist mental health support to people who are assessed by the UHB Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment (CRHT) Teams as needing additional support to prevent hospital admission and assist with hospital discharge. The service should also promote understanding of the factors contributing to an individual’s mental health crisis, and equip people with strategies aimed at the ongoing recovery of their mental health, and avoidance of future crisis. The service should work with partners across the statutory and voluntary sector to ensure the positive reintegration of individuals back into the community, and advocate on behalf of individuals to ensure meaningful access to a range of services and activities within mental health services, and in the wider community.