DEVON Partnership NHS Trust (DPT) has opened Redhills House in Exeter as a service for people who need a short period of mental health support.

Redhills House will provide 24/7 support for up to five men and women from the Exeter, East and Mid Devon areas - although it will be limited to a maximum of four people during the current coronavirus pandemic.

It will provide a home-from-home for people in distress who require additional mental health support but who do not require hospital admission.

People’s stay at Redhills House will be for a short period of time, typically between 24 hours and 10 days.

DPTs Home Treatment Teams will work alongside Redhills House staff to provide goal-based care for people to meet their immediate needs.

This new service will also enable DPT to intervene early when there is evidence that a person is experiencing a mental health relapse of some kind.

Chief Executive, Melanie Walker, said: “Redhills House is an important addition to the range of options that can be offered to people who are in need of urgent support for their mental health needs.

"Evidence from other parts of the country clearly shows that services of this kind - providing a short spell of care away from people’s homes in a community setting - can have many positive benefits for the person concerned and their families. 

"Importantly, services like this one can also help to reduce demand on other parts of the health and social care system, for example our own inpatient wards, our First Response Service, ‘blue light’ services and acute hospital emergency departments.”