NHS Ayrshire & Arran has officially opened a new, nurse-led Mental Health Unscheduled Care Assessment Hub.

Recognised as the first of its kind in Scotland, the hub aims to deliver a new model of care.

The Mental Health Unscheduled Care Assessment Hub, based at Woodland View in Irvine, provides a patient-focused, therapeutic space to support the delivery of compassionate care to those individuals with acute mental illness who would be eligible to access an adult acute mental health bed for ongoing intensive assessment.

Managed and coordinated by the Mental Health Unscheduled Care Service, the hub provides 24-hour access to mental health assessment and interventions.

The service is delivered by experienced registered mental health nurses within a therapeutic environment for a period of up to 72 hours, and will be able to accommodate up to five patients.

Caroline Cameron, North Ayrshire Health & Social Care Director, explained: “We are delighted to be able to officially open this new service.

"We piloted the hub earlier this year for a small number of patients. We are now ready to open at full capacity and provide those living in Ayrshire and who are experiencing acute mental illness with this new way of working.”