Two new Mental Health Urgent Care Units (MHUCUs) are being created in Essex, marking a significant milestone in improving care for people in crisis.
Developed and operated by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), the units will be based at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow and at Colchester Hospital, and they are expected to open in summer 2026. Construction work will see the redevelopment of existing buildings on both sites.
The MHUCUs will help adults in mental health crisis get the right care at the right time, in a calm and therapeutic space closer to home and away from the busy environments of hospital accident and emergency departments. They will provide rapid assessment, care and support in a space better suited to patients in distress and patients with neurodiversity.
Specialist staff will work with patients to understand what has triggered their mental health crisis and ensure they receive the right care in the best place to meet their individual needs, whether that be in hospital or at home, supported by community mental health teams and support organisations.
Paul Scott, Chief Executive at EPUT, said: “The units represent a meaningful investment in our mental health urgent care pathway, providing a therapeutic space for assessment and intervention which will improve the experience of people who come to us in acute distress.
“The units will strengthen the existing mental health crisis support available in Essex, helping to ease pressure on local emergency departments while delivering high-quality care for our communities.”
Tom Abell, Chief Executive Officer, NHS Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) cluster, said:
“We know demand for mental health crisis care is rising, and these units will make a real difference by ensuring people across Essex can access timely, specialist support in calm, therapeutic spaces. They will improve people’s experience at some of their most difficult moments, while also easing pressure on emergency departments and helping our services keep pace with the needs of our growing population.”
The two new units follow the successful opening of the Mental Health Urgent Care Department in Basildon in March 2023. Although smaller in scale, the Harlow and Colchester units will offer similar benefits, helping to relieve pressure on accident and emergency departments and the ambulance service by providing rapid assessment and dedicated support for people with immediate mental health needs. The units will also mean more patients receive urgent care closer to home, helping families and carers to play a more active role in their care.
Feedback from patients and those with lived experience endorses the huge importance of mental health urgent care units and the impact they have. Mental health crises are unique, there is no ‘one size fits all’ – the urgent care pathways will give clinical teams greater opportunity to provide person-focused care and respond to each individual’s needs.
About EPUT
- The units will be based at the Derwent Centre at Princess Alexandra Hospital and at the King’s Wood Centre at Colchester Hospital.
- EPUT provides services to more than 100,000 patients at any one time and our staff are focused on providing high quality care in often complex situations.
- The organisation has invested in inpatient facilities and community services to make them safer and more therapeutic. We have extensively invested in technology to keep patients safer, enhanced training, and are continuously working with our staff, patients, their families and carers to use learning and best practice to enhance our quality of care.
- While there is more to do, the Trust has made significant progress through innovation:
- Our 111 mental health crisis phone line ensures people in need can access support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- People with lived experience have been employed in designated roles across the Trust, ensuring patient voice is heart of the organisation and all that we do.
- A number of new initiatives have been launched, helping people access the support they need when they need it most. These include a mental health urgent care department, By Your Side maternal mental health service, Rough Sleeper team, mental health crisis ambulance cars, virtual wards and neuromodulation service.
- EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 and provides community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex, Luton and Bedfordshire and Suffolk. We employ more than 7,200 staff working across more than 200 sites.
- To read more about our priorities and commitments to deliver the highest quality and safest care possible, visit https://eput.nhs.uk/about-us/2023-2028-strategic-plan/