Referrals

Stewart House and The Willows are rehabilitation inpatient units providing care for people with severe and enduring mental illness. Due to the severity of their mental health needs, the client group have been unable to sustain living in community settings and require an alternative approach to long stays on acute inpatient wards.

Service users may need up to 15 months to minimise the symptoms and the functional impairment that people may experience through optimal management of symptoms, promotion of activities of daily living and meaningful occupation, screening for physical health problems and promoting healthy living. The service specialises in patients with multiple/lengthy admission to hospital and poor outcomes in terms of sustained community placements with the aim of providing a systematic care pathway.

The patient group (adults 18+) will be highly symptomatic, have several or severe co-morbid conditions and significant risk histories. A high proportion will be detained and may present with some challenging behaviours.

The Willows also provides a locked high dependency unit for those detained under the Mental Health Act (including 2007 amendment and part 3) and have been assessed as requiring a more contained environment to enable them to progress safely with their recovery. Stewart House has 30 beds and The Willows has 38 beds (8 of which provide locked high dependency beds for men who require a more intensive support in a safe environment).

The units are staffed by a multi-disciplinary team which includes nursing staff, medical staff, occupational therapists, psychologists, administrative and housekeeping staff. Additional multi-disciplinary input is provided by speech and language therapists (SALT), physiotherapists and GPs who hold regular surgeries and wellbeing clinics.