ELFT has worked in partnership with Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) to develop an interim eight bed mental health inpatient unit for Children and Young People in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes – Evergreen, which opened in February 2023.
Evergreen Unit is located on the First Floor of Calnwood Court, Luton, and provides specialist, short-term care for young people aged 12-17 who are experiencing complex mental health difficulties which cannot be managed safely in the community.
The long-term plan is to develop a permanent CAMHS unit as part of the modernising inpatient mental health programme.
Co-production is central to the care and support offered to young people admitted to the service. The development of the new service and unit has been done in conjunction with children, parents and carers who have experience of inpatient admission.
We are community-oriented unit. Evergreen staff work in close partnership with young people and their parents or carers, community CAMHS services, education, children services, and other agencies, from pre-admission through treatment to transition and discharge planning.
Address
First floor Calnwood Court Luton LU4 0LU United Kingdom
Opening hours
Evergreen provides care 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year
Telephone number
01582 293555
Monday-Friday: 3-5pm and 6-8pm
Weekends: 10am-noon, 2-5pm and 6-8pm
The team can be flexible about these.
The Evergreen multidisciplinary team includes a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Nurses, Psychologist, Support Workers, Life Skills Recovery Workers, Teachers, Occupational Therapy, Occupational Therapy Assistants, Family Therapy, Social Workers, Pharmacist, Spiritual/Cultural Care Team and a Music Therapist.
There is an advocacy service provided by the National Youth Advocacy Service who provide in-reach weekly.
Referrals are made via the new care model provider collaborative via community services.
Young people cannot refer themselves directly.
Young People have helped plan the actual design of the unit, recruit the staff and think about how the team can deliver high quality, person-centred care.
The Young People involved in the project are a diverse representation of the local community, enabling us to consider not just the mental health needs of young people but also the voice of those who are Neurodiverse, whilst also ensuring we are fully inclusive of the needs of young people from the LGBTQ+ community and those from different cultural and religious communities.