Kent and Medway's first female psychiatric intensive care unit to open

The first NHS intensive care unit for women with serious mental health needs in Kent and Medway is due to open.

Women in the region will have access to a dedicated NHS psychiatric intensive care unit for the first time, following a £4.63m investment by Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust.

The 10-bed facility at Littlestone Lodge in Dartford will provide short-term, intensive care for women experiencing serious mental health difficulties who need extra support.

Dr Afifa Qazi, chief medical officer for the trust, said the opening was an important step forward and that until now women needing intensive care and support "have not been able to receive this specialist care from our team".

The unit is expected to provide around 2,500 bed days of care for women each year, and is due to welcome its first patient towards the end of November.

Qazi said: "This new service means we can now provide specialist, compassionate care at a particularly difficult time in their lives.

"Our team will take the time to get to know each woman, understand what matters to her and recognise her as a person, not just her mental health needs."

The trust said the unit would create a more joined-up pathway, helping women move smoothly between hospital wards and community services as their needs changed, with care planned around each woman's circumstances.

Two of the 10 beds will also be available to women referred by other NHS trusts, depending on individual needs.

The trust already provides intensive mental health care for men at Willow Suite, a 12-bed unit at Littlebrook Hospital. The new unit extends this specialist service to women.

People with personal experience of mental health services helped shape the unit, and its design also takes account of sensory needs, including those of women with autism and learning disabilities.

Jim Dickson, MP for Dartford, said women experiencing serious mental health difficulties deserved "care that treats them with dignity, compassion and an understanding of their individual needs".

"I'm pleased to see this new unit open in Dartford. It is an important investment in mental health services for women and their families across Kent and Medway," he said.

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