Willow House is now officially open
People in Central Lancashire who are experiencing mental health crisis can now receive support at a new crisis house which has opened in the area.
Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust is working in partnership with national mental health charity Richmond Fellowship, part of Recovery Focus to provide a new service in Lancashire to provide support to people experiencing a mental health crisis.
Willow House, a crisis house located in Coppull in Chorley was officially opened late last month. The service provides short term placements for people experiencing a mental health crisis as an alternative to hospital admission. The crisis service provides short term placements of up to seven days with referrals coming through the Trust’s Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team.
The new innovative crisis house service is a quiet place of tranquillity within the community where guests have the freedom to manage their own schedule, cook for themselves and access the community as they would were they in their own home. People referred to the service work on a one to one basis with Willow House’s highly trained teams to develop collaborative support plans and coping mechanisms to better manage their mental health following their stay.
Sue Moore, Chief Operating Officer at Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust said:
“We are so pleased to be working in collaboration with Richmond Fellowship to provide the first crisis house service in Lancashire. Richmond Fellowship already provide a number of crisis houses across the country which have all been a great success as part of a number of alternatives to hospital admission. By working in partnership with the voluntary sector it will allow us to focus on a holistic recovery approach, which will be tailored to that individual’s needs.
“This service will provide support for local people who are in mental health crisis by providing them with the skills to manage their mental health condition within a more normal living environment, which has been proven to aid recovery in mental health.”
Joe Redmond, Managing Director of Richmond Fellowship (North) said:
“We’re delighted to be opening another crisis house to provide a vital service for people in a time of crisis. We’re very proud of our model and have some fantastic results from similar projects around the country.
“From the photos you can see the quality of the renovation and the standard of décor we’ve strived to achieve at Willow House. Our crisis houses are a marked difference from the environment people experience in an acute ward. We’ve done everything we can to make Willow House feel like a home, something that is vital for a person’s recovery.”
Willow House supports people living in Chorley, Preston and South Ribble. Referrals are made through the Trust’s Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team only.