Kent and Medway opens its first NHS psychiatric intensive care unit for women
The 10-bed unit at Littlestone Lodge in Dartford cost £4.63m and is due to take its first patient later in November.
Women in Kent and Medway who become seriously unwell with their mental health can now get psychiatric intensive care from their local NHS trust. Until now it could only offer that level of care to men.
The 10-bed unit at Littlestone Lodge in Dartford cost Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust £4.63 million. It was officially opened on Monday 9 November by Jim Dickson, the MP for Dartford, and is due to admit its first patient later this month.
It offers short-term, intensive care for women with serious mental health difficulties. Two of the beds will be available to women referred by other NHS trusts, depending on their needs. The trust's equivalent service for men is the Willow Suite, a 12-bed unit at Littlebrook Hospital.
People with personal experience of mental health services helped plan the unit. Its design takes account of sensory needs, including those of women with autism or a learning disability. Families and carers will be involved in care where appropriate.
The trust said the unit would also make it easier for women to move between hospital wards and community services as their needs change.
