£5.4 Million Allocated For Troubled Teen Unit Planned For Plymouth

Children’s social and mental health services in Plymouth are to receive a £5.4million cash boost from two pioneering Government projects.

The city is in line for £4million for Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and £1.4million to help young people at risk of being taken into care or custody, ministers have announced.

Plymouth CAMHS is among 17 chosen to receive a share of £31million to increase bed capacity and improve facilities.

The cash will be used to help develop a planned 12-bed purpose-built unit in Plymouth International Business Park, Derriford.

Briony Cowan, specialist CAMHS manager for Plymouth NHS Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT), said: “The unit will offer care and treatment in a safe, modern and age-appropriate environment and means young people who need this specialist treatment won’t have to travel to facilities outside the Peninsula.”

Work is expected to begin on site in August 2008, with the unit opening scheduled for the end of 2009. It will be used by young people across Devon and Cornwall.

The project has been jointly commissioned by PCTs across Devon and Cornwall and developed by staff and clinical teams from Plymouth PCT and Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust.

Health and education ministers also announced Plymouth is one of 10 areas chosen to try out a £17.5million pilot project introducing multi-systemic therapy (MST) to the country.

It is a community-based scheme that helps troubled children aged 10 to 14 who are at risk of being taken into care or custody to receive intensive support to remain with their families. MST will be delivered through The Zone (formerly the Youth Enquiry Service) on Union Street, in partnership with key partners including the PCT and city council. The city will receive £350,000 each year for four years.

Ruth Marriott, The Zone chief executive, said: “It will be a true multi-agency piece of work which will really support young people at the earliest stage possible to give them the best opportunity to stay in the city and resolve some of the difficulties they may be experiencing.”

The scheme is aimed at young people with clinical, social, and educational problems, such as violence, drug abuse and school expulsion.

The Zone hopes to have the service up and running, with four staff, by April 2008.

Young people will be referred from youth offending teams and children’s services.