The Khoo Teck Puat UK Foundation has made a donation of £1.905 million to fund the creation of a new Young People’s Rapid Assessment Unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, as part of the Best For You programme.
Best For You is a new, user-led model of care that is aimed around transforming young people’s experiences of mental health support. It is made up of a partnership between Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, West London NHS Trust, CW+, and Imperial College.
The programme is designed to provide early intervention alongside specialist support for young people who are acutely unwell. It does this through a combination of innovative, accessible digital resources and community partnerships.
The new Khoo Teck Puat UK Foundation Rapid Assessment Unit will be a 72-hour unit for young people in mental health crisis. The unit forms part of a new Young People’s Centre made up of a multidisciplinary team, integrating medical care with mental health care. It is hoped that this will support quick and efficient assessment, transferal and treatment of young people requiring help.
The grant also includes £405,000 to fund a three-year Arts in Health programme including a range of activities and therapeutic interventions.
In addition, the donation will will support investment into digital interventions to support provision of best possible services for young people.
Best For You launched in November 2021 by three NHS Trusts in the North West London Integrated Care System (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and West London NHS Trust) and the charity CW+. This coalition of community, tech and voluntary sector organisations seeks to establish a new model of mental health care to support young people and their families.
Chris Chaney, the Chief Executive of CW+, said: ‘We are incredibly grateful to Khoo Teck Puat UK Foundation for its generous gift to help create the Rapid Assessment Unit, which is an essential part of our Best For You programme. The Foundation’s support of this new unit and the Best For You programme will allow us to respond quickly to the urgent needs of young people in mental health crisis and help them to achieve the best possible outcomes.’
