New 'first-class' youth mental health centre opens

A "first-class facility" offering support for young people with mental health difficulties has opened.

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) said the inpatient unit, called The Sett, had opened as a specially designed facility at Berrywood Hospital in Duston, Northampton.

The purpose-built centre features an activity room, informal communal areas, classrooms, a therapy room, kitchen, outdoor spaces and comfortable bedrooms for the young people.

Dr Tiff Webster, director of children and young people's services at NHFT, said The Sett had "been designed around young people's needs... for therapy, learning and relaxing all in one space."

The Sett had previously been based at a different site in nearby Upton but its move to Berrywood Hospital means it is now nextdoor to NHFT's other child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) inpatient unit, The Burrows.

Together the units provided 20 beds for young people "needing inpatient care in a safe setting", NHFT said.

Dr Webster said: "Our colleagues at The Sett have always done a brilliant job providing high-quality care and support for our service users.

"But making the move from the old standalone site to Berrywood, they now have improved access to the hospital's support network, so it's now even easier for them to work with young people to deliver the best possible experiences and outcomes."

Marie James, NHFT service manager for inpatient CAMHS, added: "We consulted with young people before and during the design of the building and what they were asking for was that it didn't feel like a hospital.

"I think the architects have really taken that on board. It feels so different to the rest of the hospital. It's very bright, open and you just get that different kind of vibe, which is more in line with what the young people wanted."

The newly-opened Sett, delivered by Fleet Architects and T&B Contractors, earned three design prizes at the national Building Better Healthcare Awards ahead of its opening last month.

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