TUESDAY, 21 APRIL, 2015

PHOTO ATTACHED: CHAIRMAN SANDY WATSON WITH STAFF AT THE NEW UNIT

New Young People’s Unit in Dundee

NHS Tayside chairman Sandy Watson visited a new purpose-built unit in Dundee yesterday (TUESDAY) for young people with mental health problems.

Mr Watson cut the first sod to mark the beginning of construction on the £8 million Young People’s Unit (YPU) in March last year and yesterday he returned for a tour of the state-of-the-art new facility and met with staff and patients from the service.

The building was handed over to NHS Tayside last month with the service transferring to the new unit in early April.

The facility is based on the site of the previous YPU at Dudhope Terrace and includes a 12-bed inpatient unit with an education facility and family accommodation for patients from across the north of Scotland. All bedrooms are en-suite and there is private outdoor space and a gym available for patients.

The new YPU is part of the North of Scotland Regional Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (NoS CAMHS) project, which is a partnership between Tayside, Grampian, Highland, Orkney and Shetland NHS Boards and has seen the establishment of a specialist network for young people with severe and complex mental health problems.

Members of the project team worked closely with the design team to establish the requirements for the new build YPU. Young people from the previous unit also worked hard to give their views on the design of the new build and continued to be involved throughout its development.

NHS Tayside Chairman Sandy Watson said, “This project is an excellent example of partnership between the Health Boards in the North of Scotland and will be of immense value to vulnerable young people across these areas.”

Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, added, “This new unit will help to ensure that young people who need inpatient mental health care will get the best possible treatment and support. The facilities are tailored specifically to the needs of children and young people, which we know is important.

“There has been increased demand for child and adolescent mental health services in recent years, and new units like this are ideally placed to respond to this and to give these young people the kind of care and treatment they need.”

Contact:

Louise Wilson

NHS Tayside Communications

(01382) 740718