New £10m Mental Health Unit Under Construction

Published on: 21 Sep, 2022
Updated on: 23 Sep, 2022

Impression of how Charlwood mental health in-patient unit for young people will look. Image: Surrey and Borders press release

By Emily Coady Stemp

local democracy reporter

A £10 million mental health unit which will allow young people to be treated nearer to home is under construction in Charlwood, near Gatwick Airport.

The new facility will have 12 beds for young people aged people between 12 and 18 years old, providing in-patient care for those with acute mental health needs.

Funding for the unit has come in the form of around £6 million from NHS England as part of a national programme to make sure specialist services are available for the needs of local populations, and £4 million from private company Elysium Healthcare.

The mental health unit will prioritise young people in Surrey and, where possible, across other areas of the South East.

It will be built and managed in a partnership between Elysium Healthcare and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, a provider of mental health, learning disability and drug and alcohol services for people of all ages across Surrey, Hampshire, Croydon and Sussex.

According to the trust’s website, when completed the unit will provide, for the first time in more than ten years, in-patient care in Surrey for young people with acute mental health needs, closer to their home and community.

On the site of April Cottage, Farmfield Drive, which was previously owned by Surrey and Borders, the facility will have 12 in-patient beds for young people as well as communal living and outdoor spaces to encourage socialising and independence.

There will also be an on-site school for the young people to continue with their schooling during treatment.

Graham Wareham, chief executive of Surrey and Borders, said the trust was pleased to be partnering with Elysium Healthcare to “transform the care experience for young people needing inpatient services in Surrey.”

He added: “Young people need to be cared for close to home when they are at their most vulnerable with acute mental health needs.

“The opening of this new unit will help us provide care and treatment for many young people, so they get the support they need without having to travel far from their families, carers, and friends.”

Joy Chamberlain, chief executive officer of Elysium Healthcare, said the project would “create a new benchmark for the future”.

She added: “I am delighted that Elysium and Surrey and Borders Partnership are collaborating on this joint venture. We are bringing together expert knowledge, clinical acumen, innovation, and capital to deliver the best care for the young people of Surrey.”

The facility is due to open at the end of 2023.

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