A first of its kind for Scotland, NHS Ayrshire & Arran have received the green light from the Scottish government for a purpose-built mental health facility for young people, set to accept patients in 2023.

After the Scottish government’s Capital Investment Group & NHS Assure reviewed the plans for the young persons’ mental health facility – called Foxgrove – NHS Ayrshire & Arran received approval for the new national facility to open in Irvine.

Forming part of the Ayrshire Central Hospital, Foxgrove is set to be the first National Secure Adolescent Inpatient Service, with this recent approval meaning construction can move forward. In doing so, NHS Ayrshire & Arran should be able to welcome its first patients in 2023.

Foxgrove will be an inpatient unit dedicated to children aged 12 to 18 years who experience complex difficulties and need a high level of care, says the health board.

This comes after Public Health Scotland analysis revealed that one in four deaths among young people is likely due to suicide and researchers called for early intervention programmes. The Mental Welfare Commission has previously called for improved staffing of Scotland’s wards and committed to adapting to the needs of staff and individual patients to continually develop care.

Opening next year, Foxgrove will provide the first medium secure adolescent inpatient service for young people in Scotland. As a purpose-built facility, the Ayrshire development comes as a strand of the government’s Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027 and means that children can be cared for nearer to home.

Caroline Cameron, Director for North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership said this is a “milestone in this national project” and will benefit young people across Scotland:

“Currently, there are no facilities in Scotland to care for this most challenging and vulnerable group of patients. This means that children are referred to secure adolescent mental health facilities in England, or in some cases, the child may be cared for in an adult inpatient setting. This places significant additional pressure and stress on the child, as well as their families.

“Foxgrove will without doubt improve the outcomes for young people who are seriously unwell and pose a risk to themselves. Scottish adolescents with complex mental health needs will be able to access the health care, education, and support services they need in an appropriate, modern environment bespoke to their needs and aspirations.”

She added that this is great news for young people, families and carers with Foxgrove forming part of Ayrshire Central Hospital in Irvine, it is set to provide much-needed service for Scotland’s young people.

A year ago, the MWC welcomed progress on Foxgrove as it found that children and young people were being admitted to non-specialist or adult mental health wards. At the time, it was expected that Foxgrove would be opening for young people in November 2022 due to previous delays. Now, the inpatient unit is set to open by 2023 according to the health board.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran says the service will include appropriate care, treatment, therapies, security an on-going education for aged young people with mental health difficulties. Mental Wellbeing Minister Kevin Stewart announced that he was pleased the government could provide over £16m funding to support the new facility, adding:

“This will help ensure children and teenagers are being given care in the most appropriate setting for their needs. I look forward to seeing how the build progresses and develops.”

Phil McDowell, regional director at Kier Construction North & Scotland, said the team will also be focusing on leaving a “lasting legacy in the local community” and is proud to be working with NHS Ayrshire & Arran.

Within the “first half of this parliament”, the Scottish government will publish its Mental Health Workforce Plan. While this unit is set to open and begin treating patients in 2023, the government has committed to recruiting 320 additional staff in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) by 2026.

Read more: Under-18s routinely sent to adult mental health wards; Warning over CAMHS ‘fragmentation’; Children's health not improving despite good policy

Sign up to our bulletin for key health & social care updates straight to your inbox and you can follow healthandcare.scot on Google News.