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Posted on 5 Oct 2016

Nottinghamshire Healthcare officially opened Beacon Lodge, a new 12 bedded step down unit for people recovering from an acute phase of mental illness, delivered in partnership with Turning Point, at a special event on 5 October.

Over 30 people attended the event, including staff and service users, to mark the official opening of the new service, which is commissioned by Nottinghamshire Healthcare and delivered by Turning Point. Beacon Lodge, which opened to service users in September, will run as a pilot for 12 months, providing support and intervention for people well enough to leave acute inpatient mental health care but requiring support prior to returning to independent living. 

Beacon Lodge provides an individualised service, offering a safe, therapeutic environment in the community for people recovering from an acute episode of mental illness. Holistic, non-judgemental and recovery focused interventions are provided to service users, with a range of community based support services to help the transition to independent living.  Face to face support is always available 24 hours a day 7 days a week and planned weekly sessions to ensure progress is being made towards the goals of each service users’ stay and independence.

Paul Smeeton, Executive Director for Local Partnerships at Nottinghamshire Healthcare said: “We are delighted to officially open Beacon Lodge today. This fantastic new service provides an important step in people’s recovery from a phase of mental ill health, offering them additional support at a time when they no longer need to receive their care in a hospital setting but are not yet ready to go home. We are very pleased to be working with Turning Point to deliver this new service and to demonstrate the value of this model of care.”

Gaye Flounders, Senior Operations Manager at Turning Point said: “We value our partnership with Nottinghamshire Healthcare and are very pleased to be piloting the Beacon Lodge Transition Service. With over 25 years’ experience delivering person-centred, recovery focused mental health services at Turning Point, we understand the value of supporting an individual to live independently and to sustain their recovery.

“We would also like to thank the Involvement Centre volunteers who have worked closely with us on the development, recruitment and induction of staff at Beacon Lodge, and have helped us to embed values of recovery in the service.”

The effectiveness and success of the service will be reviewed at the end of the pilot to establish the clinical effectiveness, service user experiences and outcomes, and financial implications of such a model.